THE SUPERNATURAL GOSPEL

Transcription

1 THE SUPERNATURAL GOSPEL Ministering in Signs, Wonders & Miracles Jesus said, Do you want to be healed? Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your bed and walk. John 5:2-9 By Apostle Dr. Jerry Leon Bowers & Apostle Margie Bowers

2 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from the King James Version of the Bible Quotations from The New Strong s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Copyright 1995, 1996, by Thomas Nelson Publisher, Nashville, Tennessee, Used by permission BOAN Correspondence Program ISBN ISBN Copyright 2017 by Dr. Jerry L. Bowers Printed in the United States Of America All rights are reserve under International Copyright Law.Contents or cover may not be reproduced in whole or part in any form without the express written consent of the publisher.

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: The Supernatural Gospel Chapter Two: Miracle Testimonies Chapter Three: Occupying the Gates with Signs and Wonders Chapter Four: Sent iinto the Harvest Chapter Five: Operating in Apostolic Grace Chapter Six: The Apostolic Anointing Chapter Seven: Anointed to Bring Freedom

4 CHAPTER ONE The Supernatural Gospel The presence of God in us will cause others to see we have been with Jesus the resurrected Christ and they will also see that we will have boldness to speak for Him when we have His supernatural anointing operating in us. Everything about the death, life and resurrection of Christ was supernatural. He was both God and man. The message and work of the gospel is more than believing in history. It involves a transformation of the person who becomes born again and becomes a new creature. (2 Cor. 5:17). The new believer becomes a new creature who is infused with God, and a new nature. We receive supernatural power to speak His Words of life and do His works as a new creation. The ministry of the Gospel of Christ is a supernatural ministry and requires men and women who have been given a new supernatural identity to carry out this work. When these believers speak, it is Christ who speaks through them and does the work. This is the principle thing people noticed about the apostles in the Book of Acts and what we will see of those who minister in the Book of Acts Now for today, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13,14) The Supernatural born again believer is called to do the works of Christ. The Lord s supernatural mission statement is given in Luke 4:18 confirms the work of the ministry is one of restoration and power, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach (proclaim) good news to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. Christ has called His followers to bring the good news of the gospel and the freedom it brings to the lost in the same way He gave it with power. We are also to heal and proclaim liberty that reveals God s love. Like Christ, we can tell others, If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. (John 14:7) The book of Acts reminds us of this priority in describing the work of Christ, How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.. God the Father demonstrates His love by setting people free from the power of the devil. (Acts 10:38) Christ came to reveal the Father s love and glorify Him in the earth and to restore man to intimacy with the Father. All we do is to glorify the Father through the Son. The ministry of healing and deliverance in the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent by the Father, brings Him glory. (John 13:31)

5 In Acts Chapter 1, we see born again disciples ready to go declare what Christ had taught them but they are not ready. Two things needed to happen. They needed to spend time in the Upper Room humbling themselves so God could remove selfishness and their agenda. They needed to be consecrated to do the works of Christ and lay down some religious baggage. They thought God was sending the Messiah to defeat the Romans and set up the kingdom of Israel. They had strife between them. During the ten days of fasting and prayer God removed this selfishness. He also brought them into one accord in one place to understand their mission was to preach the life and resurrection of Christ as the hope of the world with signs, wonders and miracles. It was then that the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit fell on them with tongues of fire seen in Acts 2:2-3. As new creatures in Christ, the disciples had His mind and power to continue His Mission Statement in healing and restoring people (Luke 4:18). In this way, Christ was establishing His kingdom dominion in the earth. Christ was not a mere man. He was both God and man. When Christ brings new believers to being born of His Spirit and fills them, they are no longer just mere men or women. They are a new creation because they are at the same time divine and human. (2 Cor.5:17) The God of all power and creation lives in them. They have authority with Christ and are seated in heavenly places with Him. He places all things He has created in submission to them and puts what He has created under their feet. (Hebrews 2:7,8) They are to go forth declaring the Kingdom of God with power to save with signs, wonders and miracles as did Christ. (Mark 16:15-18) The preaching of the gospel without signs and wonders is not the gospel Christ commissioned His disciples to preach.

6 CHAPTER TWO A Miracle Testimony Occupying the Gates of your City with a Testimony The man healed at the gate beautiful in Acts chapter three had a testimony and when he gave it more people were converted than on the day of Pentecost. There were 5,000 people converted by his testimony of being healed. (Acts 4:4) His testimony opened the door for the apostles to declare Christ and extend the hope and healing given to the lame man to the rest. One of the characteristics of having the Holy Spirit s power is that Christ s servant s will minister healing that demonstrates Christ s power to save. The work of Christ s servants in the coming harvest will be confirmed with signs as in the Book of Acts. (Acts 5:12) Our testimony always must point to the life we have in Christ. (I John 5:11-12) If we believe in the Son, we will have a witness in ourselves. (I John 5:10) Our witness is about what we have personally experienced in Christ. It includes what we have seen, heard and how we are different as a result of meeting Him. This sharing of what we have experienced in Christ becomes the basis for our fellowship and why we come together. (I John 1:2-3) Like the man at the gate beautiful we can declare, I was lame and now I can walk. David writes in the psalms, My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. (Ps 71:15-16) A testimony is not just about what happened when I came to know Christ, but also about my on-going experience with Him so there are no limits to my testimony. One of the testimonies we can give for Christ is to declare Him with our praise and worship so others will fear the Lord and want to know Him. (Ps 22:22-23) Like the prophet Daniel, we will want to declare the supernatural life of serving Christ and declare His signs and wonders, I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. (Dan. 4:2) When we come together to share the goodness of the Lord we are to comfort one another and build one another up in faith. (I Thess. 5:11) We are never to be ashamed to testify of the Lord. (2 Tim. 1:8) We are to acknowledge Him publicly as a part of our testimony. (Matt. 10:32) This public testimony includes going back to our families and telling them what the Lord has done for us. (Mark 5:19) The testimony of Acts 4 is to also demonstrate the power of united prayer. When the apostles were forbidden to preach the supernatural gospel, they went to their own groups and asked the prayer warriors to pray against this hindrance to the gospel. The very prayer they prayed is given as a testimony to apostolic prayer. This kind of prayer is not petition prayer. It is declarative prayer. Notice the prayer in verses It begins with, Lord, You are God, who made the heaven and the earth and the

7 sea. It ends with, Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy servant Jesus. One of the greatest ways to confront a hindrance to the gospel is through signs and wonders! There is another biblical truth here in Acts chapter four that is important for taking our cities for God! It is that senior pastors and leaders need to have a prayer army of prayer warriors. They need to be on the battle field with a prayer army. The prayer army needs to have a spiritual covering of the apostles and senior leaders of the church of the city or region to be affective against principalities and powers. When this prayer ended in Acts4:31-33, the account says the Holy Spirit fell on the group and they, Spoke the word of God with boldness. It goes on to say that Great Grace was on the whole city and the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Now that is a testimony of the supernatural gospel! In the healing service, we give a testimony card to those in attendance and ask them to write down the things they need healing for as a testimony they will present. It is our experience that everyone receives when they come in faith to declare a testimony. We have them give thanks to Jesus for their healing when they present their cards.

8 CHAPTER THREE Occupying the Gates with Signs & Wonders Occupying the Market Place of the City in Signs and Wonders The declaration of Peter at the Gate Beautiful continues to be the message in the first part of the Book of Acts, Silver and gold have I none but such as I have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk. He took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength (Acts 3:6,7). Your Gate of Deliverance for Your City. The Gate Beautiful was not the proper name for this gate where the lame man was healed while he was begging. This gate was literally seen as a gate of deliverance. It was called the Shushan Gate to commemorate the mighty deliverance God brought through king Cyrus to the Jews. It was called the Shushan Gate because this was the capital city of king Cyrus. It was etched with lilies and inlaid with gold. It was a spectacle to behold in the city and a main entrance to the temple. Why did the disciples chose to start their public ministry here following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room? They came to announce a greater deliverance than what king Cyrus had brought! They came announce the gospel of Christ who has power to heal and deliver. They came to announce a greater deliverance than what king Cyrus had brought. They came to announce that King Jesus would heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead and cast out devil! (Matt. 10:7,8) This is what they were sent to announce as a part of the gospel and it is what we are also sent to declare! There must be a Gate Beautiful in our cities. The apostles leave the gate of the church in Acts chapter three following the healing of the blind man and begin to minister in the outer court at Solomon s porch. (Acts 5:12) This porch was on the east side of the temple outer court. It was a part of the women s court. In ancient times, King Solomon would meet here to exercise judgment and justice. Christ loved to minister healing in this court to those who could not enter the inner court. Here people begin to bring the sick and afflicted to the disciples for healing. The sin bearer would come and release people of their sins and afflictions in this court. Many of these people would not have been welcome in the Synagogue the disciples set up a place to minister in this place that was more accessible to the people. The religious leaders tried to stop this by having Peter thrown into prison, but no prison bars can keep the supernatural gospel from going out so an angel was sent to free the apostles. Here is a picture of ministering to those outside the traditional places of worship who need to meet the sin bearer and have judgment reversed in their lives! It is clear that Christ sent his disciples out to proclaim a supernatural gospel with authority and power. (Matt. 10:1) They were to demonstrate Christ s power to save and God would confirm this power to save by confirming their messages with signs and wonders. (Acts 2:22) The Lord also testified to His word with signs and wonders because they were preaching a supernatural gospel. (Acts 14:3) The gospel of the

9 kingdom is a message of the miraculous. From beginning to finish, the gospel is about the power of God to save, transform and renew man. (Heb 2:4) The gospel is still to be preached with signs and wonders. (Romans 15:19) We do not see these signs in many churches because of unbelief. The ministers of God are not asking for or believing for them and yet God promised the signs would accompany the gospel. Some make excuses for this lack of power with the gospel by teaching that signs and wonders died with the apostles. This is just an excuse for their lack of faith. The truth is that the Bible teaches that, The church will come behind in no gift waiting for the appearance and return of Christ. (I Cor. 1:7) Nothing was supposed to change from the Book of Acts until the return of Christ. Many things have detoured the church of today. Traditions of man, the teachings of denominations, formalism and the paganism of the nations have polluted the gospel of power. God is calling His church back to the Book of Acts and calling for ministers of fire to rise up in the Book of Acts anointing to complete the harvest. He will bring forth in these last days men and women who will be confirmed by God with signs, wonders and miracles. They will release such a fire of God s love into cities that they will be transformed. The sick will be healed. The devils will be driven out of the various spheres of society and great grace will be upon the cities. The activity of God will not be limited to church buildings but will invade the market places and public domain of the cities.

10 CHAPTER FOUR Sent into The Harvest In the sending of the seventy for the harvest in Luke chapter 10, we see a picture of what Christ is calling forth for the final harvest in our day. The Lord speaks of the coming harvest in this story and how we are to pray and minister in order to see the harvest. (Luke 10:1-17) The Lord sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. And he said to them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest. (Luke 10:1-2) You and I are about to be an answer to their prayers. The Lord tells His disciples and us how we are to prepare for the harvest and then how we are to go forth into cities and see them transformed. It is obedience to His word and instructions through the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause the devil to be defeated and souls saved as shown in this passage of scriptures. In Chapter 9, the Lord gives power and authority to the disciples to cast out devils and to heal the sick while sharing the gospel which means Good News. We need to have a message which delivers the people and sets them free from Satan s power. This is the good news Christ brought and declared in Luke 4:18. We are told by the apostle John, The Son of God appeared for this purpose that He might destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8) The word here Destroy means to Unloose which is a covenant term. Christ wants to unloose all the claims the enemy has over our lives and put us into covenant with Him and all the covenant promises he has given to Abraham. (Gal 3: 28,29) Christ s plan for evangelism is still the same, Heal the people and set them free from the power of Satan. The word here for peace in verse 5 is Shalom. It has been lost in translation. It is a weapon. We know that much disease is related to chaos or stress in a person s life. We know that sickness causes chaos in a person s body. When we minister healing, we can do what Christ told His disciples and speak a release of Shalom peace when we command sickness to go out. We want the person to be filled with the healing grace of Christ once the afflictions leave. In general, we need to ask for the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) to come in to fill and heal what was connected to the illness. Most pain can be seen as the opposite of the fruits. For example, Fear is the opposite of love. It comes in many varieties: fear of abandonment, fear of failure, fear of death. The Word tells us that, Perfect love casts out fear for fear has torment. (I John 4:18) Once we have the person claim their healing we need to make sure the doors are closed for the enemy to come back in. Anxiety, anxiousness, and anger are the opposites of Peace. God s peace will cast these out. The opposite of Joy is sadness, sorrow and depression. When a person is delivered from these they need to have God pour in His Joy and heal their soul! You may want to list the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 and what would be the opposites. Much of emotional wounds can be healed by replacing them with the fruits of the Spirit. If we

11 live with the pain of the past, we are living as victims and God has not called us to live as victims but in the freedom of the Son. The pain is an indication that more cleansing and forgiveness are needed. The process of getting healed often involves bringing that person to the cross that hurt you and naming the pain giving up your right to judge them and then claiming the fruits to replace the wound. If we are going to be used to heal others, we first must be healed and be willing to come all the way to the cross and pray the prayer of David, Search my heart, O God, and show me if there be any iniquity (hurtful way) within me. (Ps 139: 23-24) Some of us need to get real with God and surrender the whole heart! Opposites of the Fruits are the emotional wounds. Love = Fear Goodness= Vulgarity Peace= Anger Faithfulness= Unfaithful Joy= Depression Gentleness= Harshness Longsuffering= Impatience Self-Control= Compulsiveness Kindness= Harshness God heals us when we exchange the wounds in forgiveness for the Fruits of the Spirit. You don t have to live as a victim of past wounds! Exchange them for the Fruits of the Spirit at the cross. God wants to send us into the harvest in the Book of Acts Now Church with healed hearts, minds and bodies.

12 CHAPTER FIVE Operating in Apostolic Grace Acts Chapter 15 Revelation In this chapter, we see the spiritual government of God operating. Apostles come together with prophets to consider a doctrinal matter that was dividing the Gentile church from the Jewish believers who wanted the Gentiles to be circumcised according to the law of Moses. The apostles put the application of spiritual truths in order for the church and corrected those who were minimizing the gospel. This chapter shows how important the operation of God s spiritual government can be in the regions and cities for today. These leaders were operating in the Upper Room anointing of being in One Accord as a apostolic regional council. This apostolic council released grace and power to the church to stay on course. It is still needed in the Book of Acts Now Church for today as we approach the harvest. Overview of Acts Chapter 15 These regional apostles arrived at a revelation from the Lord on the matter and reported it to the apostles in Jerusalem who confirmed their decision. This is spiritual government in operation that brings about unity and order. This is what apostles bring to the body of Christ. When the Jews objected that the new Gentile converts were not being circumcised it brought about a crises. Once again, the Old beliefs or wine skins are threatening the move of God among the Gentiles. This type of conflict is always around when God is doing a new thing or bring about revival. If the current revival doesn t look like the last revival, there will be those who will rise up in favor of orthodoxy. It was orthodoxy that nailed Christ to the cross. The fact is that God is not going to always show up in the same way. He doesn t fit in the boxes men create for Him. The Spirit of God moves according to the need and priority of the kingdom they way He chooses. We must be in tune with the Holy Spirit so we can move with Him. Apostles along with prophets are the foundational gifts to the Church. (Eph. 2:20) Some Teach that these gifst ended with the New Testament Apostles, but this is not what the Bible teaches. We are assured that all the gifts will continue in the church waiting for the return of Christ. (I Cor. 1:7) The word apostle means Sent One. The apostle is called by God not man. (Romans 1:11) They are used of God to establish the church, give correction, instruction and encouragement for the work of God. Apostles are a part

13 of the five-fold leadership gifts in Ephesians 4:11. They are called with this leadership team to equip and build up the body of Christ so they come into maturity and unity to reflect the fullness of Christ. (Eph 4:12-13) One of the evidences of being called to be an apostle is that they have had a divine encounter with Christ. (I Cor. 9:1) God uses them to plant churches, new works and they function as pioneers. There are true signs of an apostle which are validated by signs, wonders and mighty deeds. (2 Cor. 12:12) They are used by God to encourage and impart spiritual gifts to others. Because the apostle is the top gift among the others, they often can operate in all the leadership gifts so they know how to steward the work of God. An apostle will be able to prophesy, evangelize, pastor and teach. They have spiritual authority to make decisions for the body of Christ (Acts 15:6) They also can impart the power of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to others along with other gifts. (Acts 8:17) In the modern church, the pastor is elevated to the top gift who often functions with the gift of teaching. The church has suffered in not being able to operate in power because the foundational gifts have been excluded until recent times from the church. One of the great benefits of the restoration of this gift is that it causes all the church to operate under great grace! (Acts 4:33) God is establishing His church in all its gifts and power before Christ returns to the earth so that there will be a great harvest of souls. The church will not end with less power than it started with in these last days. All the gifts with signs, wonders and miracles are returning! There is a need in every city and region where believers and leaders operate to identify apostolic leaders and seek their leadership and blessing. Even if they do not fully know their calling this protocol is important. Ask yourself this question, If I am to do a citywide event, who is the person or persons I will need to bless it for it to succeed? This should give you a good idea of who has authority in your area. Functions of an Apostle 1. They are a messengers of God called to speak for God. Phil. 2:25; 2 Cor. 13:3 2. They are called through special revelation or an encounter with Christ. I Cor. 9:1/Gal. 1: They witness to the resurrection power of Christ. Acts 1: They impart the baptism of the Holy Spirit and commission people in ministry. Acts 8:16-17; 6: They train, equip, mobilize and bring believers into maturity. Eph. 4: They bring order and government to the church. Acts 15: They build, plant, and strengthen churches and ministries. Acts 14: They establish order and sound teaching. 2 Thess. 3: They lay foundations for the church. Eph. 2:20 10.They operate in signs and wonders and speak with boldness. Acts 4: They operate in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and confirm gifts. I Cor. 12:7-11; Acts 10: They have authority to cast out demons, bind them and heal the sick. Luke 9:1 13. They are set apart for the Gospel by God and are called from the womb. Rom 1:1; Gal. 1: They receive strategies from God for ministry and operate as leaders. Acts 13:1-3; Rom. 11: They are recognized by other Apostles. 2 Cor. 13:1; Acts 1: 23-25

14 CHAPTER SIX The Apostolic Anointing The Activation Of Gifts One of the works of the apostle seen in the book of Acts Chapter six is to activate the gifts of the believer and to mentor people in their gifts. They also have a grace to impart spiritual gifts. (Rom. 1:11) In chapter six of Acts, the widows are being neglected in the daily distributions of food. The apostles sent out for seven men filled with the Holy Spirit so they could commission them to serve this need. (Acts 6: 1-3) They stated that their daily priority was to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. The interesting thing is that these seven men who are commissioned are never seen ministering to the widows according to the book of Acts, but no doubt the need was met. Under the apostolic grace extended to them, these seven anointed men begin to do the same works the apostles were doing. Operating Under Apostolic Grace If you operate under an apostle, you are operating under apostolic grace One of the seven was Stephen who begins to preach with such boldness that the religious leaders have him stoned to death to shut him up. (Acts 7) Another of the seven, Philip, who went down to the city of Samaria and began to minister with same signs and wonders of the apostles casting our devils and healing the sick until the city was filled with great joy. (Acts 8) The story of the seven men appointed to feed the widows is inspiring to all believers. If you are called to operate under an apostle, you, like them, will operate under apostolic grace which makes you a part of an apostolic ministry. You will begin to operate under apostolic grace even as did Stephen and Philip. This means that, even the person sent to rake the leaves in the Church s yard, under the apostolic grace, becomes a part of an apostolic ministry and will begin to see signs and wonders in their life. This knowledge of the operation of apostolic grace ought to cause the people of God to jump up and down and shout, Praise God, the apostolic grace is for the whole church! Apostles have spheres that they are called to operate in. Grace is given to the apostle to operate in a specific area. Some are called to a city, a region, a nation or many nations. Some apostles are trans-regional to the body of Christ like Barnabas and Paul. They come alongside with ministries to encourage, strengthen and build them up. (Acts 15: 39-41) Apostles carry a fathering or mothering anointing to mentor and raise up others in ministry. They are servants to the body of Christ. The apostle Barnabas was called, A son of encouragement. (Acts 4:36) He did not come to take over the ministry of others or place himself above others, but to come along side others to strengthen the work of God and encourage other ministries.

15 Apostolic Ministry in the Prayer Movement. Across America there are apostolic networks rising up under apostolic leadership. Leaders under these apostles are operating in every state in America. They are a part of an apostolic network ministry. However, it needs to be noted that these faithful prayer leaders in many cases are not apostles. They operate under apostolic grace which makes them part of an apostolic ministry. There is a reason to bring this distinction to light. Prayer networks operating under an outside leader from another state in the local area of other apostles need to submit what they are doing to be under local apostles who have responsibility for the people in their area. They are to be responsible to local apostles and not just to prayer leaders who want to connect to them. This is right protocol in the kingdom. In my experience, apostles in a local area are mainly made up of senior pastors and are recognized by other pastors as the fathers or mothers in the city or region where they live. It is important to align the prayer movement so it connects with local authority and serves with God s appointed leaders in the local community. This adjustment in alignment will release greater authority to those leading prayer mobilization. Currently, in some cases, those leading the prayer in a city or region are being designated as apostles who represent the apostolic prayer networks, but are in many cases not often recognized by apostolic leaders in their own communities as actually being apostles. An outside leader is appointing them which is a breach in protocol. It would be more appropriate to call those serving in the apostolic network as apostolic representatives of the network. In haste to see a true apostolic ministry awakened in our nation, people are being designated as apostles who are not called of God to be apostles. The Calling of an Apostle Like all of the five-fold ministry leadership gifts, it is God who bestows these gifts. In the case of the apostle, the body of Christ is beginning to recognize them and the roles they fill. Because this restoration of the gift of apostle is still in process many are asking, What is an apostle? Why do we need them and how do we recognize them? Acts chapter 9 gives an important insight into how an apostle is called. The apostle Paul in this chapter has an encounter with God while traveling to Damascus to persecute the believers. He was knocked off his horse by a bright light and heard a voice speaking, Saul! Why are you persecuting Me? (Acts 9:4) After a time of humility and a laying on of hands to release an anointing on him for his calling, He immediately begins to preach. (Acts 9:17) He goes to the synagogues and churches and starts declaring Christ to them. Most apostles are called with an encounter with God, because it is God who appoints them. Their ministry is confirmed with signs and wonders that help set the captives free and establish others in ministry. Some apostles are church planters or pioneers of ministries. They are recognized by other apostles and make themselves accountable to other apostles. This is the book of Acts model.

16 Activation of Gifts Apostles are often used by God to recognize gifts in people and activate them. The apostle Paul sent word to a congregation, I look forward to coming to you that I might release gifts in you. (Rom. 1:11) I recall years ago being at a regional prayer gathering as a pastor. I was just learning about the operation of these gifts. The Lord kept speaking to me at the gathering about a certain prayer leader. He kept saying, See her! Her name is Debra. I would acknowledge this by saying, Yes, Lord. But the Lord kept saying this over and over. Finally, I got what the Lord was trying to say to me. He wanted me to go affirm her calling. I was not to sure about all of this, so I went to her and cautiously asked, What is your name? She answered, My name is Wendy. I said, I was afraid you might say that. You see the Lord has been telling me all night your name is Debra! With this announcement, she fell to the floor and begin to sob and cry. She exclaimed, My pastor has been trying to tell me I am called to be a Debra and lead prayer, but I have felt unworthy. And now you come and tell me my name is Debra. The gift of apostle is used to encourage and build up the body of Christ and to equip the people of God to do works of ministry. Acts 4 tells us what happens when a city operates under apostolic leadership, And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon the city. (Acts 4:33) We give witness to the resurrection of Christ when we minister His life and resurrection power to the lost and sick in the city, But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)

17 CHAPTER SEVEN Anointed to Bring Freedom Story of the healing of the Centurion s Servant This Gospel story focuses on the power of the Word of God to heal in Luke 7:1-10). We release the power and anointing contained in the Word and it brings life. In this sense, we are ambassadors of His Word and its message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18) which is a message of life and wholeness. All things reconciled to the Father are to be made whole. Every believer is to be an ambassador of wholeness in bringing the word of reconciliation to others. (2 Cor. 5:20) The life of Christ stories are designed to highlight principles He taught His disciples which were later used in the book of Acts. In order for us to minister as the disciple did in the book of Acts, we need to know what they learned of Christ about the priorities of ministry so we can see the Book of Acts Now in our day. In this gospel story, a Centurion Soldier had a servant who was dying. He cared about the servant enough to ask for help. The religious leader went to Jesus on behalf of this Roman military leader declaring him worthy because he had built them a synagogue. (Luke 7:2-5) Notice that as Jesus made His way to see the sick servant, that the Centurion s description of himself was different than the religious leaders, : Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another Comes, and he comes. When Jesus heard these words, He marveled at him, and said, If say to you, I have not found such great faith in Israel. (Vs-7-9) The Word of God Carries an Anointing of Power This story reminds us that the Word of God itself is supernatural. When we impart it to others it has power in it to transform, deliver and to heal. That is why we are told, He sent His Word and healed their diseases. (Ps 107:20) We are also told that His Word will not return back void but accomplish the purpose for which it is sent (Isaiah 55:10-11). When we minister, we are to release God s Word for healing by knowing and using scripture. We are assured it will not come back to God empty. It will accomplish what it says. As ambassadors of the Word of Reconciliation we must know the authority of God s Word and how to use it. It is the sending and releasing of God s Word that releases authority over diseases, sickness and over the demonic forces who afflict people. This means the believer who

18 is serious about using this authority must have scripture marked down to use or memorized to release or speak when it is needed. We have Delegated Authority and can release it by declaring it in addressing the sickness or demonic powers afflicting a person. Take time to write down key scriptures that you can use to speak to sickness or demonic forces to speak healing and life to a person so they can be healed. Review the scriptures. Write them down and began to memorize them so you can send forth His Word and see people healed! Primary Author: Apostle Dr. Jerry Leon. Bowers Biography Apostle Dr. Jerry Leon Bowers has been a minister of the gospel over 30 years. He is serving with his wife Apostle Margarita Bowers as the senior pastor of Book of Acts Now Global Church in Brownwood, Texas. They are now serving on the U.S. National Prayer Council as the Israel Directors. He is also the founder of Israel Covenant International and travels to speak in Israel several times a year and also travels to the Philippines and other nations to preach in revivals.