When You Need A Miracle By Rev. Joseph Kostelnik, Ph.D. 1
When You Need a Miracle When You Need a Miracle Copyright 2004 by Gospel Truth Ministries. All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 1-59196-703-1 Printed in the United States of America. Prophetic Voice Publications http://www.gtm.org/pvp/ Gospel Truth Ministries P.O. Box 1885 Cincinnati, OH 45201-1885 USA http://www.gtm.org/ 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS I Needed a Miracle 5 The Key To Miracles 11 What Are Miracles? 23 Why Miracles? 27 Miracles in the Old Testament 31 Miracles in the New Testament 39 Miracles in the Early Church 49 The Power of Miracles 67 Objections to Miracles 69 When You Need a Miracle 75 3
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I Needed a Miracle I Needed a Miracle HE THEREFORE THAT MINISTERETH TO YOU THE SPIRIT, AND WORKETH MIRACLES AMONG YOU, DOETH HE IT BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, OR BY THE HEARING OF FAITH (GAL. 3:5)? needed a miracle. Have you every been there? Where you needed a miracle and without one you wondered how you would survive? Let me explain. I make my living with my voice. It s kind of difficult imagining a preacher who can t preach! I hear some of you saying, Not really; you should hear my pastor. But seriously, I d noticed my voice sounding rough to my own ears while attempting to sing harmony in our church s worship team, as well as during my sermons. At first I tried to write it off as allergy or a seasonal discomfort. In time, I visited my family physician and was informed my vocal chords were probably just strained and that I should endeavor to rest them for a bit. That didn t help. Not at all. While I tried to convince myself there was nothing seriously wrong, something in the back of my mind kept haunting me with 5
When You Need a Miracle various fears. Naturally, it was at this time that I heard of another preacher who eventually died of complications from throat cancer. Needless to say, that didn t do much to alleviate my fears or increase my faith for a healing. I decided I had better see a specialist to find out what I was dealing with. After a routine check-up, he said I was probably hoarse from too much preaching and public speaking, or it could be an allergy complication. He then said he would recommend another diagnostic test (which my insurance plan wouldn t cover) that would cost about $500.00. I told him I would think about it. When I didn t call to setup the appointment, he called me to ask why. I told him I didn t feel too good about doing the test. After all, I offered, what s the worst case scenario? He added, nonchalantly, Throat cancer. Seeking the Lord There s nothing like a good scare to prove to yourself whether you re really trusting the Lord on a daily basis or not. It was at this time with the symptoms worsening when others were beginning to comment about my voice on a regular basis, that I received my first direction regarding receiving my healing. One night I went to sleep praying, asking the Lord if there were anything else I could or should do in order to resolve this situation. That night, I had a dream. I was in the office of an ear, nose & throat specialist. He was tall, with curly black hair and a mustache. He examined my throat and then took me into another room where he said he would perform another test. He brought out an instrument with a long black rubber tube and a scope at the end. He then tried unsuccessfully to insert it in my right nostril. He smiled and said, That s not going to work so well; let s try the other one. He then slipped the tube into my nose and ran it down my throat. After looking for several minutes, he retracted the apparatus and said, smiling, Well, there s nothing there! I then awoke with the power of God all over me. I rejoiced over the dream but the symptoms continued. I realized the Lord was leading me to be examined by another specialist. I asked my primary care physician for a referral. Needless to say, I 6
I Needed a Miracle was not too surprised when I recognized the doctor whom I d never seen when the specialist entered the examining room! I smiled when he took me into another room after the initial exam and said, There s another test I can do right now to give us a better idea about what s causing your problem. He brought out the instrument I d seen in the dream. I nearly stopped him when he raised it toward my right nostril but instead waited until he said, Well, that s not going to work; let s try the other one. Can you imagine how I felt living out the dream in such precise detail? I was elated that he was going to confirm my healing (even though I was still having symptoms). After the test he said, Well, I know what your problem is. You have several nodules on your vocal chords. I was devastated! My dream had not ended this way! He then went on to outline several options: doing nothing, voice therapy, or in the worst case scenario surgery to remove the growths. This, he said, was risky because I could lose some of the range of my voice in speaking or singing. To say I was confused would be an understatement. I went back to prayer. As I was praying about the situation, I was reminded of a book I had seen some 15 years previously, Change Your Voice, Change Your Life, by Dr. Morton Cooper. I purchased the book and learned how I had probably developed the problem in the first place as well as how to better take care of my voice in the future. However, I was still in need of a healing! One afternoon as I was praying I remembered reading about a minister of another generation who had developed a throat problem and who had been healed by receiving prayer from Dr. Oral Roberts. This is where it really got interesting. As far as I 7
When You Need a Miracle knew, Brother Roberts was not on television in my area at the time. Yet I believed he was God s channel of healing for me. Within a week, while channel surfing, I saw a new program on a Christian television network featuring Oral and Richard Roberts. The theme was Miracles Today. I watched the program several times, waiting for an opportunity to agree in prayer with Brother Roberts. Then came my miracle moment. Dr. Roberts looked into the camera and said, Someone has something wrong with their throat; God s going to heal you. He then asked that we place our hand on his on the television screen. I did! By the way, this program only aired for six weeks; just long enough for me to find out about it and receive my healing. Nothing happened. If anything, my symptoms worsened. Fighting the Fight Just here, let me remind you that the entire Christian life is based upon faith (Heb. 11:6), and without it, it s impossible to be well-pleasing to God. We are called to walk by faith not by the sight of our natural eyes. I knew in my heart I had obeyed the divine direction I d received and simply stood my ground. Within a few weeks, all of my symptoms were alleviated. However, I was still a bit concerned about the healing not being medically verified. I made a second appointment with the specialist. While driving to his office, the Spirit of the Lord gave me a word for him about how God planned to use him to bless people from a medical standpoint. After the initial exam, he then proceeded to administer the test. Again, he had to use my left nostril. He looked for several minutes, removed the instrument and smiled. Well, I see where they were but they re not there now. 8
I Needed a Miracle I then explained the particulars of how I d received my healing. He was intrigued and said, Whatever you did, just keep doing it. I then related the prophetic word the Lord had given me for him and he seemed very appreciative and humbled by it. I don t think he quite knew what to think about my having initially seen him in a dream. I also then realized my initial dream was of this second visit, after my healing had been accomplished. Only the Holy Spirit, Who knows the end from the beginning, could have provided such precise information. A Personal Proposition I hope you can see from my personal testimony that receiving miracles from God is a very personal experience. This is as it should be. If we are really God s sheep, we should be able to hear His voice to us. After all, faith cometh by hearing, and the hearing by a spoken word from God (Rom. 10:17, Gk.). Each of us must develop our own walk with the Lord. The Christian life isn t a method, it s a ministry. Whenever you or I need a miracle and we all will someday it will be a very intimate and personal walk of faith with God from start to finish. In the next chapter, I m going to share with you some of the most important information along this line you will ever receive. I m going to reveal to you the Key to miracles! 9
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