S T R E E T   H E A L E R 'S   G U I D E

R E V I S E D    E D I T I O N

Luke T. Jones

Superlife Publications

Stratford, Connecticut

©Copyright 2013 Luke T. Jones. All rights reserved.

Superlife Publications, Stratford Connecticut

No portion of this book may be reproduced without permission of the author.

www.shgbook.info

E N D O R S E M E N T S

L U K E  has a passsion for Jesus and is hungry to see the Holy Spirit move in his region as well as all over the world. His love for God and desire for the move of the Spirit has often led him to spend hours regularly just seeking God's Presence above all else. Because of this, Luke has been able develop a supernatural lifestyle and leads healing evangelism teams on the streets and they've regularly seen healings and salvations. Luke believes the kingdom of God within us should be allowed to manifest in our daily lives with manifestations of healings, salvations, signs and wonders. Luke has a heart for revival and I personally believe the Lord's hand is on him to be one of those being prepared to use in these end times.

Ella Onakoya, author of Spirit-Led Evangelism

Harvest of the Nations Ministries

www.harvestofthenations.com

T A B L E

o f

C O N T E N T S

1. A New Beginning

2. Identity Crsis

3. Power From On High

4. Types of Dunamis

5. Accessing Dunamis

6. How Jesus Did It

7. The Jesus Method

8. Preparing for War

9. Love the People

10. Release the Kingdom

11. Test the Results

12. How To Approach

13. Increasing the Power

Recommended Reads

F O R E W O R D

W H E N  I wrote the initial draft of Street Healer's Guide I had been thrust into an adventure with God to which there was no turning back. I prayed a dangerous prayer amidst my two years of back-slidden living, of which God honored and had been, I believe, waiting upon. As I cried out to God—show me the real you!—that fateful morning, little did I know the events to follow and that I would now nearly three years later be looking back on that event having experienced things many only dream about in movies. I've seen broken limbs healed, I've seen diseases disappear, I've seen canes and crutches thrown down in victory, I've seen gold fall from clouds and blind eyes and deaf ears open at the name of Jesus. A thing if I went back in time and told my old self I would be seeing (let alone being a part of) I probably would have laughed in my own face. Not that I didn't believe in miracles because I did, but the idea that this could be the normal Christian life, and especially my normal Christian life, was something closer to wishful thinking. Yet God is faithful and here I am, updating a book I've written about a topic I never thought I would be writing about—supernatural divine healing! I am eternally grateful to God for giving me a second chance, a new beginning, and for never giving up on me as I went my own way. I won't belabor here as I want to save my story for Chapter One, but know this: He is so, so faithful.

The one thing I want you to know concerning why I've made this revised edition: Heart. Aside from updated testimonies and a new prayer model, aside from all of the new things I've learned and experienced with God since the original release of this book, I want to stress the main difference between this edition of Street Healer's Guide and the first is heart. See, despite my process of restoration and reconciliation to God, despite my dramatic baptism in the Spirit and all of the amazing miracles that ensued over the following two years, I didn't know anything about the Father's Love or how about experiencing Papa God's embrace for me personally. Not until I attended the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, California, did I have this encounter for myself. And that's precisely why I wanted to re-write this book. Where the original edition of  Street Healer's Guide taught (and very effectively, I think) the principles of divine healing and how to walk in it, this one will not only do that but also give us something more important: The eyes of Jesus. Where the first edition read like an instruction manual, this one will be like a love letter. It's my desire that we not only walk in the radical, raw power of God, but also see people (and ourselves) through the eyes of the Father's Heart. That's my prayer for you, dear reader, that you would come fully into your identity as a son/daughter of a loving Papa Who never gives up on us, Who is always there and ready for us to jump in His lap. When we can do that, the miracle stuff is easy. I welcome you back to Street Healer's Guide. Turn the page and let's begin this journey together.

S T R E E T   H E A L E R ' S   G U I D E

Revised Edition

C H A P T E R   O N E

A New Beginning

S O  you're looking for more. Obviously, otherwise you wouldn't have picked up this book! Truth is you know there's more to this “Christian walk thing” than simply sitting in a pew every week, listening to sermons and tithing. You can feel it in your bones when you pick up the scriptures and read things like Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, casting out legions of demons, walking on water, and feeding thousands in a single sitting. Something in you is crying out for this type of demonstration in your every day, routine life. Oh, how you could win over that stubborn, agnostic cousin! Or perhaps even help your sick grandma dying of cancer. Or win many souls for the kingdom with one, simple act of pulling someone out of a wheelchair at the mall. You read about how miracles followed Jesus everywhere He went as well as the apostles after Him, only later to read verses like Mark 16:17-18 where the Bible says the very same signs are supposed to follow us too. Or even better yet, how about when Jesus Himself is quoted claiming we shall do the same works He did and greater (John 14:12)? If you're like me, you find yourself imagining what that would look like when you go to Wal-Mart or Starbucks, or the grocery store for milk, or the gas station to refuel. If you're also like me, you've probably wondered why don't we see more of these types of things in regular, everyday life as well. If this Christianity thing is really real and the Bible is really true, how can we, regular, every day Joes and Janes tap into the greatest power of the universe, which supposedly dwells inside our earthen vessels? How can we let the River of Living Water flow?  As Bill Johnson always says, the senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, “The Holy Spirit is in you and wants out.” Well, if that's true, how do we let Him out? How can I “do the stuff” Jesus did — the stuff He later said I could do because He was going to the Father?

This book is an attempt to help us all accomplish just that, based on my own experiences with the Holy Spirit and praying for the sick in the streets. This is not about how to pack a stadium for miracles crusades; this is a book about some things I've learned on my journey; this is about an every day Joe that wanted more. It's a drop in an endless ocean. It's about how you can unlock the raw power and reality of the Kingdom of God everywhere you go — to co-labor with God to supernaturally meet the needs of the community around you and glorify the Name of Jesus Christ before all the storefronts of your hometown! Sound pretty awesome? Well, it is! And I've got news for you: It's what the Bible considers normal Christianity. Not Christianity for special people. Not Christianity exclusively for healing evangelists or “full-time” mega-church ministers. It's for taxi drivers and baristas. It's for janitors as well as the middle-managers of corporate America. It's for husbands and wives. It's for mothers and fathers, and sons and daughters. It's for normal people who desire to live a more biblically normal Christian life.

To quote Pastor Bill again, “Jesus was the most normal Christian in history.”

This book is an attempt to help us all become normal Christians according to the New Testament. To live the  naturally supernatural, Spirit-empowered life outlined in the scriptures! It's for all. It's our inheritance as sons and daughters of the King of Kings, the Maker of heaven and earth and all therein! The Gospel is a gospel of power, not of talk, so this book aims to help us all live out that reality in our ordinary, uninteresting lives whether it be on the job, grocery shopping, picking up a DVD at the mall, grabbing a light and sweet at Dunkin' Doughnuts, or wherever else you may go. The truth is there are people you see in your daily comings and goings I will never meet. This is your mission field. This is your harvest. And God has put all the resources of heaven at your disposal to not only tell people about Jesus, but to also back it up with miracles just like the apostles did in the Book of Acts. You were created to be a miracle worker! Struggling with that notion? Get over it and accept it! God wants to use you! You were born for such a time as this!

“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.” —1 Corinthians 4:20

PRINCIPLES = NOT FORMULAS

I  do want to let you know beforehand, though, that the principles outlined in this guide are simply just that — principles! And they should be taken as such. I am not giving you formulas. The most important “formula” you can follow is to get intimate with the person of the Holy Spirit. Remember, these principles are only to act as a guide to help us  get started. Ultimately, you've got to get to know the Holy Spirit intimately and develop a sensitivity to His Voice for true success in healing, signs, and wonders ministry. And like all relationships, that type of sensitivity is developed via experience, by spending time with Him everyday in friendship as well as through a bit of trial and error when trying to obey God's leading. Don't be afraid to mess up! I've messed up a gazillion times (and still do). It just goes with the territory and can't be achieved by reading about it or theologizing. I'll say it again: Distinguishing between your own thoughts and His Voice is developed over time with process. But hey, that's kind of the fun of it! It's an adventure. If you just resolve to do everything out of love you'll be alright. In later sections we'll discuss some very practical, non-threatening ways to act upon what you might feel is the Holy Spirit's leading. This way, in case you do miss it, you've come off in a way that's loving to other people as well as safe for the both of you.

Sound good? Then venture forth, ye brave souls!

MY DEAL

Before I get into some of the basic concepts of praying for the sick, I'd like to give you a little background on my own personal journey towards “doing the stuff”, my friendship with the Holy Spirit, and what brought me to write this little guide.

TYPICAL CHRISTIANITY

Long story short: I gave my life to Christ in May of 2005. I was raised in an Episcopal church but later came into a greater reality of God once my best friend got involved with a certain non-denominational Church, which later became my own home church as well. My Christian walk from 2005 onward was pretty typical. I say typical because I want to distinguish typical from normal. In America, the typical Christian experience is not necessarily a normal one (though that has started to change with the apostolic reformation that's been taking place in our midst). Most American Christians are good people that attend church, read the Bible and even pray. We volunteer and usher, and sell rummage, but the thought of pulling people out of wheelchairs usually remains outside of our daily considerations. I say this after attending many different churches and meeting all different Christians from all different backgrounds. It's been my observation that the typical, American Christian experience is more or less philosophical and natural than it is an actualized supernatural reality where heaven invades earth on a daily basis. Most of us mentally ascent to the supernatural workings of the Holy Spirit, but miracles seem like things that happen only once in a blue moon. That was my Christian walk for the first several years. I went to church, served, prayed, tithed, studied the Word, and even put a Jesus fish on my car. I could speak in tongues but outside of that I didn't think much about going around and praying for the sick or casting out demons in normal life. 'Doing the stuff' back then was simply being a good church-goer.

But is this what the Bible calls normal? Is being a church-goer all there is?

STAGE 5 BACKSLIDDER

Then in 2009 I backslid. I never was into drinking or drugs, but I was horrifically mean and arrogant, and didn't care much for going to church or reading the Bible anymore. I burnt many bridges and caused many broken relationships in that time period. Simply put: I was addicted to self. I still talked to God privately, but I had developed all of these nasty opinions about the church and church people simply to justify my own actions.

I was a Stage 5 Backslider.

This lasted for about  a year. Then, at the end of 2010, I lost everything. I lost my job. I lost my girlfriend at the time and had no friends. Nothing but a trail of broken relationships left behind in my wake. I had also been pursuing a career in screenwriting with nothing to show for it and was burnt out.

As Pastor Paula White would say, “Luke, you were broke, busted and disgusted!”

SECOND CHANCES

It wasn't until February 2011 I began going back to church, seeking God really more out of desperation than anything else, trying to piece back together my life and my relationship. Little did I know that at that time a well-known prophet named Rick Joyner had posted a  certain bulletin on MorningStarministries.org about the year 2011 being the Year of Second Chances. At the end of the previous year, God had showed Rick many backsliders returning to the Lord along with Isaiah 11:11 as a scriptural reference to accompany it. I was one of these backsliders. I rededicated my life to Jesus Christ during a Wednesday night Bible study service when my pastor asked people to come up that wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I went up as a sign of re-dedication and though I didn't get wrecked by the power of God, I knew I didn't want to go back to the old way ever again. No matter what.

HUNGRY FOR MORE

Over the next several months I began to hunger for more of the supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit in my life. I wanted my Christianity to be more interactive. After all, I was always told we serve a personal God who didn't show favoritism, so I knew the things He did in people's lives like Benny Hinn, He could do in mine too. I found myself wanting to learn more about the prophetic and miracles, which I now understand God had planted that desire on my heart. I started in-house with my church's own evangelist/prophet Bob Hazlett of Touch of Fire Ministries. I remember attending Pastor Bob's “XTREME CHRISTIANITY” seminar once a few years earlier, where we were taught the basics of prophecy and hearing God's voice. This led me to ordering a few of his CD's and the more I listened, the hungrier I grew to have this kind of Christianity in my life. I visited other churches that I knew had breakthrough in the supernatural. I began to write in journals practicing the prophetic: Basically, I'd write down what I felt God was saying about the next three months of life, then I would wait and see if it happened. To my surprise many times they came true! I even tried writing things about other people and they come true too — even stuff about whole countries! I also devoured the Gospels. I read the Book of Mark over and over again, and the prophets. I began to also learn about the spiritual gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 and I asked God for the ones I wanted. I asked for healing and prophecy, and miracles, and distinguishing of spirits. I watched YouTube videos of healing in the streets and read lots of books too. The one thing I noticed in all of these books was they all agreed on the same, basic principle: the miracles Jesus did we can all do, because the Holy Spirit lives in us. It's for normal people like me and you. They all agreed that the Bible's version of normal Christianity is a lifestyle deeply rooted in the supernatural. It's what happens when you hang out in the presence of God for long periods of time. Nothing impacted me more, however, than John Wimber's Power Evangelism and Power Healing. For it was these two that catapulted me on my journey to praying for the sick in the streets and the wonderful adventure in the life of miracles to follow.

POWER TRIP

One evening in June, the night before my grandmother's burial service, I was baptized in power of the Holy Spirit. Just a few months earlier my grandmother had passed away from the after-effects of a stroke. We had already celebrated her home-going, but since as a family we had decided to have her cremated, we wanted to spread her ashes during the summer when it would be warm. I was alone in my room that night. I had just finished helping my parents set up for the family brunch the following morning. I was listening to IHOP-KC worship music and singing to God. After praying for a bit, I began to ask God to show me what it's like when His healing power is on me.

“How will I know when You're ready to heal people, Lord?” I said.

Immediately, I felt waves of electricity and fire splash over my body. It felt like all of the hair on my body stood up. For two hours this happened, the fire of God washing over me, causing me to scream and laugh like a lunatic! And craziest of all — I started feeling drunk! I later learned this experience is what is called being drunk in the Spirit, something I had never heard of before. Well, that drunkenness carried over to the next day and throughout the burial service and even family brunch. Talk about timing! I think some of my family members thought I was on something. I know my brother's girlfriend did when later at the brunch she said to me, “What is wrong with you, Luke? Are you drunk and high or something?”

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

One month later a new friend of mine sent me a text about gathering up some people at the West Haven beach to read the Bible and pray. It was a Thursday night. I had nothing to do so I decided to go. Strangely enough I had lots of trouble finding the group and ended up going back home annoyed and angry. As I was driving, I remember hearing a still, small voice inside me say, “Why not pray for the sick here on the West Haven beach?”

“Why not!” I replied.

By this time I had already read a lot on the subject and watched over a gazillion videos of people praying for the sick in the streets, so I went home and drew up the first street healing event plan. I had no real idea of what I was doing, of course, but it was cool. I was ready for action (or at least I wanted to be anyway). Word spread about the event and on the actual day about 15 people showed up. I was excited at the turnout. It was a cloudy forecast and not many visitors were on the beach, but our first encounter changed my life. It was with a woman that was actually brought to us as a friend of someone that goes to my church. She had cancer and had a back condition that caused one leg shorter than the other. Now I'd seen many legs grow out in YouTube videos so I knew the drill. We all laid hands on her and prayed, “In Jesus name, back be healed! Leg grow!”

And it happened!

Her leg actually grew out and the pain began to subside. I couldn't believe it. It was a real miracle right in front of my face! I wish I could say the rest of the event was as fruitful. We prayed for a bunch of people and nothing happened, and we got rejected by a ton more (you'll have to get used to rejection in this business and we'll talk more about rejection management in later chapters). Overall it didn't matter much to me, though. God had used me. God had really used me! I was so excited about that one little miracle I didn't know what to do with myself. I tossed and turned all night thinking about it. I'd never be the same. Everything I'd heard about this being the lifestyle for everyday Christians was true.

There was no turning back!

NO TURNING BACK

The months rolled on and we kept going out to pray for people. We went no-strings-attached, not looking to make people get religious or force them to become Christians. We just went out the bless them and love them, and meet their needs like Jesus did. In that process I have seen salvations and miracles like you wouldn't believe. Aches and pains vanishing instantly, legs growing out to normal, arthritises cured, broken limbs healed instantly. In one instance, I met a man who had been hit by a car and broke his leg as a result. He was hobbling around on a crutch in intense pain and could barely support himself. I asked the man if we could pray for him in Jesus name, because we believe God loves him and answers prayers. He agreed. Jesus instantly healed him and he walked away with the crutch over his shoulder, telling everyone that passed by what Jesus had  done for him — yay God!

In another instance, which occurred on that same day, we even saw a Jehovah’s Witness give his life to Jesus when his back was healed and, like the first lady, had a leg grow out instantly! Now have I seen miracles every time I pray? Of course not, but I've seen a lot, because the more people I pray for the more opportunity heaven has to touch earth with the fiery love of our Father. I've seen it with my own two eyes and know for sure if God can use me, He can and will use you. All you have to do is say yes! I'm certainly nothing special. Neither are my friends who come out to pray for the sick with me. We are just regular people who are willing to go and pray, and if that's you too, then get ready for God to do mighty things through you! And that has been life ever since. I hope this little guide helps you in your efforts to see more of normal Christianity manifest in your life as you venture out to demonstrate the power and love of God. It's my prayer that God will use each and every one of you reading this mightily for His purposes and glory.

In the next chapter we are going to begin our journey into preparing you to pray for the sick by creating a supernatural mindset for miracles. Again, this is not an in depth, theological dissertation. I have a list of recommended reads at the end of the book should you decide you want to learn more about the deeper things concerning the theology of healing. This is a simple, basic guide that will equip and release you to go do it just like I did.

So let's turn the page and in the words of Ducard, “Are you ready to begin?”

C H A P T E R   T W O

Identity Crisis

A F T E R  reading over a gazillion books on healing and revival,  going to impartation conferences, miracle crusades,  prophetic evangelism classes and then stumbling around trying to pray for the sick myself, I've come to realize that in order to build a proper foundation for street healing, one must understand three, simple concepts:

1.) Who you are.

2.) What you've got.

3.) What do to with it.

Now, if you ever been to a Bible-teaching church you've probably heard it said a million times — we are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus, as it is written: “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,” — Galatians 3:26. Well, I'm here to make it a million and one. There  is nothing more crucial than our understanding and actualizing of this reality if we are to effectively 'do the stuff' Jesus did in the streets. Why? Because who you are determines what you have at your disposal, and what you have at your disposal is because of who God says you are. Everything is built upon this revelation. I'll say it again: Who we are determines what we have, and what we have is because of who we are. It's simple but important and worth revisiting over and over until it becomes so embedded in our subconscious we don't have to even think about it anymore. We'll just be it and accept it effortlessly. Again, I'm not going to take us into a five-hundred-thousand word dissertation on the theology of sonship. I'm not a theologian and this is a “just do it” kind of book anyway. Yet, even still, I can't ignore the fact that in order for us to be able to “just do it," we need to make sure our foundation is strong and settled once and for all. We must all know who we are in Christ for real. We must understand that we are His kids and subsequently what kind of privileges come with the package.

HUMANITY'S IDENTITY CRISIS

It doesn't take a professor of sociology to see that our culture (speaking specifically for America) is in the middle of an identity crisis. Just flip on the TV and in less .345 seconds we find ourselves being lambasted with all kinds of social ideologies that attack our sense of self worth. Pop culture's MO is to show us how we are “supposed” to look, act, think, and measure the success of our own lives and others. If you don't look a certain way, wear a certain brand, drive a certain kind of car, take home a certain paycheck, retain a certain waist line, or share certain sensibilities with the rest of society, then you are quickly branded an outcast. We are subliminally taught he who dies with the most toys wins, no matter what kind of pseudo-philosophical slug line is pitched our way to the contrary. We look up to celebrities and rock stars that we know live broken lives, but still continue to idolize and emulate them anyway. We follow the latest trends and spend gazillions of dollars yearly to own what culture tells us will bring fulfillment and status. We change careers like we do socks, the divorce rate is 55% and rising, and all kinds of people from all walks of life are coming out of the closet about being “this,” or “that.” And why?

In short: It's because we are all searching for our identity. Yet, this problem is not a recent invention of the twenty-first century and it's definitely not a problem exclusively to Western society. In fact, it's the oldest crisis in the history of the human race.

PORTALS BETWEEN DIMENSIONS

In the beginning, at the time of creation, the Holy Spirit manifested the commands of the Father, bringing forth light and illumination out of the chaotic deep (Genesis 1:1-3). Then, six days later, post construction of all the various complex ecosystems thereupon, God brought into existence a most unique and mysterious creature — the human being. In Genesis 1:26-27, the Bible uses an interesting combination of words to describe the process of human creation. First, the word create is used, which comes from the Hebrew word bara, meaning to form out of nothing. The second word used is asah, or to form out something already per-existing. Let's look at how this plays out in the actual scripture:

“Then God said, “Let us make (asah) mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created (bara) them; male and female he created them.”

Genesis 2:7 also shows an amazing depiction of this process: "The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

So we see now that God “created” and “made” the human race out of both nothing and something. The nothingness is the spirit being God pulled out of His own essence and placed into the “something,” which is the dirt body he formed out of the dust of the earth. We, the human race, were fashioned out of both spirit and earth. We are spirits living in physical houses. It's this supernatural-natural combination that allows our species to act as a portals between the seen and the unseen realms. Between the physical and spiritual dimensions.

In other words, you were intentionally designed to live a naturally supernatural existence! Believe it!

THE TRIPARTITE BEING

The Bible tells us God didn't stop there. Not only did God make our physical-spiritual make up to act as doors between worlds, but He also gave us a soul to process information, experience emotions, and also exercise free will. This completes what the Bible calls the tripartite being. Not only is a human being a spirit living inside an earthen house, but also a living soul with a mind and free will of his/her own. God made the human being to be a person. Let's take another look at Genesis 2:7 and see this in action:

"The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.”

Paul the Apostle also reaffirms this in his letter to the the Thessalonian church:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:23

So as you can see, you are a spirit, you live in a body, and you have a soul. Why did God give you a soul with a free will of your own? Because God didn't want mechanical doors when He made us — He's not interested in robots! God wanted relationship and only persons can build relationships. He wanted a people to walk and talk with face to face. Person to person. God wanted sons and daughters to give all He has to as an inheritance. Yet only persons can be sons and daughters, and only sons and daughters can receive inheritance.

"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." —2 Corinthians 6:18

IMAGE AND LIKENESS

Going back to Genesis 1:26 for a moment, we see a deeper dimension and purpose in the creation of the tripartite being. In the first line of the text, God says, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.”

The word “image” here comes from Hebrew word tselem, which deals with the very nature and attributes of God. What are God's attributes? He has a free will, is sovereign, is good, experiences emotions, is creative, loving, and has the capacity for relationship. If we, then, were created with the very attributes of God's person woven into us, then we too have all of the above capacities.

Next we have the word “likeness.” The word likeness comes from the Hebrew word demuwth, which deals with functionality. We were created to function like God. How does God function? Supernaturally! God speaks and things happen. Being made in God's image allows us to be in relationship with God as well as carry out His purposes on planet earth.

FIRST BLOOD: IDENTITY THEFT

But something went horribly wrong. Adam and Eve, the children of God, found themselves in an identity crisis. As they approached the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil on that fateful morning, the enemy of all the world made his move.

“You will not die,” said Satan (Genesis 3:1-7). “For God knows if you eat you will be like God, knowing good from evil.”

The truth: Adam and Eve already were like God. They fell for the biggest lie in the history of bad advertising, and the human race was banished from the Garden of Eden, having lost their place as children and heirs. Now a supernatural enemy had dominion authority over the earth, humanity left in a whirlwind of fear and a survivalist state. But God had a plan from the very beginning. A plan to bring humankind back into the family and use us to help destroy all evil once and for all. To not only cleanse us of our sins, but also to reinstate us as heirs and the glorious superpower we once were. The plan: God would send His son Jesus to die on the cross in our place, bringing us all back to God, as it is written:

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”—1 Peter 3:18

And: “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "—1 Peter 2:24

Because of this once and for all sacrifice, any who believe in the lordship of Jesus Christ, that He is indeed the son of God sent from heaven to die in our place, that He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, is not only saved from eternal punishment (Romans 10:9), but also restored to the original Adamic status as sons and daughters of God (Galatians 3:26)!

THE FATHER'S HEART

In 1994 the great revival known as the Toronto Blessing exploded, people flocking from all over the world to receive impartation and renewal in the manifest Presence of Jesus occurring there. John and Carol Arnott, the senior pastors of the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church, which would later become Catch the Fire Ministries, began a series of meetings in January with guest speaker Randy Clark, whose little Vineyard church in Kansas City had seen an explosion of the miraculous. What was supposed to be a few days of revival meetings turned into the greatest outpouring since Azusa Street. In a teaching one time I heard Pastor John talking about the days leading up to the outpouring. He and Carol had been pressing in for a healing revival, but interestingly enough, though there were healings that happened, what they ended up getting from God was much bigger. Pastor John said the main thing people were experiencing as the Toronto Blessing ensued were encounters with the Fatherly Love of God, resulting in healed hearts from old emotional wounds. People, in short, were having experiences with God as Daddy. God was bringing people into their identities as His kids and the testimonies of inner healing and restoration came piling in. As I said above, everything in the kingdom comes out of a place of identity. Identity as God's children. When Jesus died on the cross, He restored our relationship with God. Now we can come before Him not as servants, but at children. You see, the human race is longing to be reunited with its Papa. The cry of every human heart is to be loved and accepted, and valued by God. And when we ourselves know we are loved and valued by God, we will then see people as valuable to God as well. Not only that, but we will see them as valuable because they are valuable to God and for no other reason. Well, I have news for you: God wants you to know how valuable and loved, and wonderful you are in His eyes! This was a radical concept Jesus came to demonstrate on planet earth during His earthly ministry. I believe because it's not enough that we know how God made us (theologically); it's not enough that we intellectually understand God is our Father (doctrinally) by simply reading it from a book. It's essential we experience His loving embrace and tender kisses first hand.

Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is "the exact representation of the Father." In other words, Jesus came to show us—to reveal to us—what Daddy God is like. And then, He said, “When you've seen me, you've seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

If Jesus then came to demonstrate to an orphaned people what their heavenly Daddy is like, how then does Papa God feel about us? According to the Bible, God takes delight in you. He is well pleased with you (Matthew 3:17); God sings over you (Zephaniah 3:17); He is proud of you and loves you unconditionally (Deuteronomy 3:16); and God wants you to know He's a safe place—you can jump into His lap anytime! There's nothing you did to earn His love; there's nothing (and I mean nothing!) that you can do to cause Him to stop loving you. In fact, God thinks you were born to be amazing! Did you know that? How can I say that with such confidence? Because it's true! He made you in His image and likeness just like we studied above. He created you to turn the world upside down and is fully committed to completing every promise in your life (Jeremiah 29:11). That's the kind of God He is and everything He makes is good. Including you.

The Father's Heart is something especially important to me. If you took the time to read the forward of this book, after I returned from being back-slidden, God took me on a journey into the miraculous. I had seen amazing wonders: Healings, provision, deliverance—you name it! God was doing mighty things through me, but I never had an encounter with God as Papa. I never knew Him (experientially) as Daddy. I knew doctrinally that I was a child of God. I could quote it and give the right theological answer coming from a very strong Bible-teaching church, but I didn't know I could experience God's love for me now. I didn't know I could feel His warm, tender affirmation for me. I figured God proved He loved me 2000 years ago when Jesus died on the cross (John 3:16). No one ever told me there was more. No one ever told me that without a real understanding of the Father's Love I'd still find myself relegated to a performance based identity, based on how well I did, based on how many miracles I saw through my life. Thank God this didn't stay that way forever!

WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

It was November 2012. I had attended the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry for two months. Having moved across the country to California, leaving my friends, family, and home, I found myself in a puddle of tears on the floor under the power of God's love as He soothed the wounds in my heart of long ago. It began when one of my teachers, Mark Brooks, started his series on the Father's Love titled “Who's Your Daddy?” At this time we also had to read Jack Frost's book, EXPERIENCING FATHER'S EMBRACE, which dealt with this whole issue of the Father Heart of God. As I began to learn about the Father Heart of God and His unconditional love and acceptance for me, I prayed the prayer in Jack's book, asking God to come and let me feel His warm love for me as His son. All I can say is...He did! I burst out crying on the floor, the liquid-hot fire of God's love and affections coursing through me. The whole month I spent weeping alone in my room. I remember often wanting to run away—just skip class!—and go cry. I just wanted to  get away and jump into the lap of my Daddy and be with Him. To be with unconditional love! And as Papa God began to take me through these series of encounters, I started to see other people differently too. I didn't realize how much I treated them as projects. I didn't realize how much I associated my sense of self-worth with how many miracles I could perform or how many amazingly clever quotes I could come up with. None of that mattered anymore. All I cared about was just loving God and loving people, because I had met true love. I had met my Daddy and experienced His love for me. I believe knowing God as Papa and experiencing His embrace for us is imperative for every believer, whether you want to walk in signs and wonders or not. We must all come to know God as our Papa who loves us no matter what.

Do you know God as Papa? As Father? As Daddy? If not He wants you to right now. He wants to break off the years of guilt and shame, and lies that He is mad at you or that you have to win His love and affections. He wants to fill you up with His love and then set you loose to destroy the works of the devil and bring His lost children home. This is the assignment of every believer regardless of the unique calling on your life. We have all been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). And it first starts with us being reconciled to a Father with a desperate cry for relationship with His kids. Isn't that amazing? It is!

Let's pray: Lord, I want to know you as Daddy. I invite you to come into my room right now and love on me. Come and pour Your Fatherly love for me into my heart, that you and me might be one, and that I might give away Your love to those I meet in the street. Forgive me for believing the lies of the enemy about you. Forgive me for believing I have to earn your love and affections. I choose to believe now that I'm your beloved child in whom You are well-pleased. In Jesus name--amen!

Now let's move on to the next chapter, where we will discuss what we have at our disposal because we are sons and daughters of God—for the purpose of being able to effectively heal the sick in the streets!

C H A P T E R   T H R E E

Power From On High

I N   T H E  last chapter, I stated how in order for us to be effective healing ministers in the streets, we must first understand three, simple concepts: 1.) Who we are 2.) what we've got 3.) what to do with it. After all, who you are determines your inheritance, and the inheritance entitled to you is because of who you are. In other words, because we are children of God we have access to certain resources and privileges due to our family name (as well as certain responsibilities to go with it). However, in order to know what's at our disposal, we have to make sure we know what that family name is, right? So now that we have a firm foundation on our identity as sons and daughters of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26), what exactly is at our disposal? What is this family inheritance we all have access to? And most importantly, how does it pertain to healing the sick in the streets?

LET THEM

If we want to understand the inheritance we have access to as sons and daughters of God, we must once again take a good look at the life of Adam and Eve, the first humans. Genesis 1:26 is an overview on the creation of humankind, but it's also about the establishing of our destinies too. Have a look for yourself:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

The word dominion in the original Hebrew text is the word radah, which means dominion, kingdom, government, or royal power. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the word dominion as, “supreme authority or sovereignty.”

In other words, God gave the human race supreme authority and power over earth. This means every plant, animal, blade of grass, spec of dust, bacteria, cancer, tumor, mountain, valley, ache and pain had to obey their every command. Whole continents would have had to shift location should Adam have issued the order. Why? Because God gave supreme governing authority over planet earth to the human race. And you know what that means, right? Since we are now children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, we now have access to this authority! Yes, that means you!

The bottom line: What we have as children of God is power and authority over the whole earth, both in the physical and spiritual realms. Don't believe me? Let's look at Genesis 1:26 again:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Not only did God list a number of different kinds of animals we have authority over — He said over all the earth too! Every element, every plant, every rock, mineral, and spirit, be it good or evil, we have been given rulership over. The only thing humankind was not given authority over was other humans. This was reserved for God alone. However, our earthly governments are simply just the by-product of living in a world separated from God. This is also one of the main reasons I believe we have so much suffering in the world. Since God gave humans supreme authority over the affairs of earth, if we allow suffering to happen then God won't stop it. Why? Because He gave us that right to choose and to allow which events happen on earth. He limited His own ability to intervene! Jesus furthers this reality in Matthew 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

In other words, what Jesus was saying was, “Whatever you allow to happen here on earth is what heaven will also allow.” Why? Because humans have supreme governing authority over earth, as it is also written: “The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man.” — Psalm 115:16.

HE CAME TO SHOW US HOW IT'S DONE

You know, another reason Jesus came to earth was to show us what this kind of authority looks like in action. He came to show us how Adam and Eve lived before Genesis 3. Jesus' life was naturally supernatural and if He's our model to follow, then we must take a close look at the things He did. Here are some instances of Jesus using “what we got” as children of God:

1.) Jesus exercising authority over diseases: When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” — Matthew 8:1-4

2.) Jesus exercising authority over spirits: “They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.” — Mark 1:21-27

3.) Jesus exercising authority over weather: Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” — Matthew 8:23-27

4.) Jesus exercising authority over ecology: “The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. When evening came, Jesus and his disciples went out of the city. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” — Mark 11:12-25

5.) Jesus exercising authority over physics and elements: “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn 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. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God.'” — Matthew 14:22-33

6.) Jesus exercising authority over wealth: After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?” “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” — Matthew 17-24:-26

7.) Jesus exercising authority over death: “Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.” — Luke 7:11-17

8.) Jesus exercising authority over lack: “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.” He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” (About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketful of broken pieces that were left over.” —Luke 9:10-17

We have example after example of Jesus demonstrating the supreme governing rule delegated to our race. “Well, yeah, but Jesus was the Son of God,” you might say. “He did those things because He was God.” Oh really? Well then explain Mark 11:23, Matthew 16:19, 18:19, John 14:12, and all the subsequent miracles of the apostles. Jesus didn't do miracles because He was the Son of the  (although don't get me wrong He was still fully God). It was because He was the son of man! His human side, not His God side, is what gave Him the authority to demonstrate all of the above. How do I know this? Because of Genesis 1:26! That's who God gave authority over all the earth to — humans! Jesus came to show us how it's done. This is why in John 14:12 He said, “the same works I do, you shall do even greater because I am going to the Father.” Well what works did Jesus do? Miracles! He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons, multiplied food, commanded the elements, and even defied gravity, space and time. And since Jesus is the Son of God, being God living in a human body, I think then we ought take Him at His word, don't you agree? If Jesus said we'll be able to do the same works, then we have to settle the issue: We too can do the same works. Period.

LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE

Power and authority are not one and the same, yet must work together in order for the use of power to remain legal. Legal, you say? Yes! The reason I say legal is because we are talking about a kingdom. Like all kingdoms, the kingdom of God is a system of government with laws and principles by which everything under its jurisdiction operates.  The word kingdom itself is a grammatical construct of two words: king + dominion. Let's break this down further:

King = Ruler of a country. Who's in control. The big boss.

Dominion = The authority or influence of the person in control. Power.

In other words, a kingdom is a government. It's an institution of laws and principles that keep the country in order. The kingdom of God is no different! Who's in control? God (king). What's being controlled? The universe (domain). And like I said above, within all kingdoms there are laws by which everything functions — even the physical universe understands and obeys this! This why when Jesus commanded the winds, they obeyed Him. Or likewise when He cursed the fig tree, it died. It's also why when He ordered demons to leave people alone, they did. Everything in the entire universe, both physical and spiritual, operates on a system of government. The government of the Kingdom of God.

The word kingdom in the New Testament comes from the Greek word basileia, the same word as the Hebrew word, radah, which we defined back in Genesis 1:26. Basileia simply means royal power, rulership, or government. Consequently, we have to understand this too if we are going to try to command a sickness to leave someone's body and have it work. Why? Because it's going to require the legal backing of our heavenly government in order for sickness to obey and respond accordingly. Without the legal backing of our government then demons, sickness, disease, aches, and pains won't respect our orders. So let's define authority and power.

AUTHORITY VS. POWER

Authority is the legal authorization, license, or permission to do something on behalf of the government. It's the government allowing us to act. In the case of the kingdom of God, it's the right to go out and destroy the works of the devil on heaven's behalf. Power, then, is the resources, strength, or ability to accomplish the act itself. Where authority deals with legal permission, power deals with ability/capability. The government not only gives a person the permission to represent its interests, but the government also gives that person the firepower to get the job done.

Here's an example of that in motion: Power and authority can be likened to that of a police officer. Police officers carry guns (power) and have badges (authority) that give them the legal license to enforce the law. If it comes down to a shoot-out, an officer has the permission of the government to shoot in order to stop the bad guys. The power is the gun; the authority is in the badge. The officer is given the license to enforce the law by the government and also the equipment to accomplish the task.

In the New Testament, the centurion understood this concept of authority. When his servant became ill, the centurion approached Jesus for healing. Check out what he said:  When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. — Matthew 8:5-13

The centurion, thanks to the Roman Empire, had the legal license to lead and command 100 men on its behalf. If he wasn't a centurion, he would not have been allowed to do so. Why? Because he is a centurion of the Roman Empire and only centurions have the legal permission (authority) from Rome to command 100 Roman soldiers. The government gives the centurion legal permission to not only command 100 soldiers in war, but also backs him up with all of the armor, swords, shields, helmets, horses, and chariots (power) to do the job. When God set Adam in the Garden of Eden, He gave Adam the mission of managing the earth on behalf of the kingdom. Not only did God give Adam the permission to do this on heaven's behalf, but He also gave Adam the supernatural equipment needed as well. What is this supernatural equipment God gave Adam, and then subsequently to us? Let's find out. First, however, one quick thing to note...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PERSON

DOES NOT HAVE HEAVENLY PERMISSION?

This is a valid question. What happens if someone tries to go out and heal the sick who does not have the legal backing of the heavenly kingdom? Well, the Bible illustrates one example of this clearly in the account of the Seven Sons of Sceva:

“Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.”—Acts 19:13-16

In this account we see seven Jewish exorcists who one day tried to use the name of Jesus to cast out a demon. They were not born-again children of God, so they had no legal right to invoke the power of God via the name of Jesus, and what happened as a result? No power was dispensed from heaven and they ended up being overtaken by the demon! The demon basically said, “Your authority is not valid here,” and instead of obeying their commands, attacked and humiliated them. They were nothing more than mall cops trying to act like real police officers. However, Paul, a born-again believer in Messiah, was recognized as a true authority in the land. If Paul had been there, the demon would have had to obey. Why? Because only sons and daughters of God have the legal backing of heaven. Only sons and daughters of God have dominating authority over planet earth, and the permission to invoke and administer the power of God.

Friend, I'm here to tell you that God has done the same thing to us. In the context of street healing, He has given us license to heal the sick on behalf of the kingdom wherever we go and the supernatural power to get the job done. God has given you supreme governing authority over everything on planet earth!

Now that we understand the need for God's power to be dispensed, let's take a closer look at what kind of power we're talking about exactly. What is spiritual power?

DUNAMIS NOW

All throughout the New Testament we see awesome displays of the raw power of God in the lives of Jesus and the apostles. We see dead people coming back to life, the lame walking, blind seeing, shadows healing people, lepers are cleansed, demons come screaming out with fright — the works! In Luke 9, Jesus sends out His disciples for the first time to tell people about the kingdom of God and heal the sick. Here's what He says:

“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” —Luke 9:1-2

“Power” in this context comes from the Greek word, dunamis, which is defined as power to perform miracles or miracle-working power. It's the same word used in the passage in Acts 1:8, when Jesus tells his followers what will happen when the Holy Spirit comes upon them after the day of Pentecost.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the outer most parts of the world.” —Acts 1:8

Let's look at these two passages again, only this time with our definition filled in.

“But you will receive power to perform miracles when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the outer most parts of the world.” —Acts 1:8

And in Luke: “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power to perform miracles and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” —Luke 9:1-2

The Bible is clear: The power (dunamis) God gives His sons and daughters is the supernatural ability to perform different kinds of miraculous acts. Overall, there are nine different “types of dunamis” called the gifts of the Spirit outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. In the next chapter, we will be taking a closer look at each of them. Let's go there now.

C H A P T E R   F O U R

Types of Dunamis

I N   P A U L ' S  first letter to the Corinthian church, he outlines what we have come to know as the nine gifts (Greek word: charismata) of the Spirit. I like to compare these “types of dunamis” or “anointings” to mutant powers out of a superhero comic book. This always sounds crude to religious people, but it's not about being religious, it's about understanding the Bible in ways we can all relate to. For those not getting caught up in my wordage, don't you hate when we throw around these religious terms but have no clue as to what they really mean in plain, modern day English? I do, so I try and break things down in an easy way I can grasp.

THE SUPER-POWERED ONES

The gifts of the Spirit are like super powers given to we mild-mannered reporters. Only instead of a getting our abilities from a radioactive bug bite, it's the Holy Spirit who enables us to perform these incredible, superhuman feats. Here's how I break down the logic in my head:

Christ = The Anointed One.

Christian = Christ followers. The anointed ones.

The anointing = God's power.

God's power = supernatural.

Supernatural + power = super power.

Christ = the Super-Powered One.

Christians = the super-powered ones.

See? So in my world, Christians are real life superheroes with  real super power! You are a super-powered one! Why? So  you can go out and destroy the works of the devil just like Jesus did!

Let's see what kind of various “super powers” the Holy Spirit can give us:

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” —1 Corinthians 12:7-11

According to the Bible, these are the nine different kinds of “super powers” the Holy Spirit can give us at any time. I want you to know upfront this book takes the perspective that we can  move in all nine gifts anytime, anyplace, anywhere as needed. Some teachers will tell you that's not accurate, but my experience in street ministry has been that God will use you to do whatever is needed as long as you make yourself available to Him. For example: Say you go to Starbucks and notice someone sitting there with a broken leg. Are you going to say, sorry, I don't have a gift of healing, so I can't pray for that person? My experience has been if you are willing to go and pray for that person's healing, God will give you the super power to make it happen. Why? Because A.) You're what's available. And B.) Jesus loves to help people, especially unbelievers, because He wants to show them He is real and loves them. So if you want to be used by God for street healing, He'll use you. Many Christians end up worrying about which gift they have or don't have. The reality is  you have the Spirit of God living inside your body. That means you have the Source of all nine gifts with you at all times! Instead of going into a panic and feeling discouraged, simply ask the Holy Spirit to give you the right “super power” needed for the right job. Keep it simple. This is what I do and I've moved in all kinds of different gifts — almost all nine of them! The only gift I've yet to personally experience is interpretation of tongues. Otherwise, I've given words of knowledge, prophecies, gifts of healing and miracles, and distinguishing of spirits before. I've spoken in tongues. I've had supernatural wisdom. I've even experienced supernatural faith — 100% knowing a miracle was going to happen! If someone needs healing, He gives me healing power. If someone needs a prophecy, He gives me prophetic power to prophesy. It's not because I'm special; it's because I'm available. I am willing to go out and pray for people and the Holy Spirit backs me up with power. Guess what, my friend, He wants to do the same for you too. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). I'm not an evangelist. I'm not an apostle, prophet, or pastor. I don't have a healing ministry on TV either. I'm just a regular, everyday Christian that sits in a pew on Sunday. If God is no respecter of persons and never changes (Malachi 3:6 + Hebrews 13:8), then that means you too can experience all of the above.

WISDOM

The gift of wisdom/word of wisdom is the supernatural ability to know what to do in an upcoming or difficult situation. It's literally God downloading in you the solution to a specific problem. It's also the supernatural knowing of what people or institutions need, as well as how to provide simple solutions to meet them. It's knowing what to do for no reason. Now, obviously “the reason” we know what to do is because God gave us the ability to, but it can often feel like you just know for no explicable reason.

In the book of 1 Kings we see an example of the gift of wisdom in operation.  As the story goes, two women living in the same house both had children. One of the children died and so the mother of the dead child kidnapped the son of her housemate. King Solomon had no clue as to who was telling the truth in his natural ability. To find out who this child's real mother was would take some wise action. Here's how the situation played out:

And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.” Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.” And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. — 1 Kings 3:23-28

Sounds like something right out of Jerry Springer, right? And talk about slick! Thus, a difficult problem was solved. The king was given supernatural insight from God as to how to solve the problem. Note in the last line where it says, they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.(v.28) This is how the gift of wisdom works. It allows us to make tough decisions we naturally wouldn't be able to make ourselves.

Another instance of this super power in action was in the life of Daniel. According to Daniel 1:17-20: As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams. Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.

Earlier in the same chapter we see this wisdom put to the test when King Nebuchadnezzar put Daniel and his friends on the king's royal diet, which according to Jewish custom, was forbidden by kosher law. Here's how Daniel handled the situation:

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.” But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let us be given some vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be observed in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days their appearance seemed better and they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables. (.v8-16)

Jesus operated in the gift of wisdom loads of times in the gospels, especially when the pharisees were bombarding Him with tough questions. Here are a few instances of Jesus moving in supernatural wisdom.

Look these verses up in your bibles as we go along and see how Jesus roasted his critics:

1. Jesus questioned about the adulterous woman:  John 8:11

2. Jesus questioned about paying taxes: Luke 20:20-26

3. Jesus and the miraculous catch of fish: Luke 5:1-11

4. Jesus feeds the 5000: Mark 6:31-44

KNOWLEDGE

Words of knowledge or gifts of knowledge are one of my personal favorites. Simply put, this is the supernatural knowing of information without ever learning it! It's God telling you a fact about someone that you could have never known unless they personally told you themselves. This is very handy in the street because it helps people's faith and shows them God is real. Think about it, if I just came up to you and told you about something you did in the middle of the night last night, wouldn't that grab your attention? There are several different ways a word of knowledge can be experienced. Here's a short list of the different ways people have reported getting words of knowledge:

1. Pain in your body: Sometimes you might feel pain in your body that's not your pain. Instead, this is God showing you a problem with someone else in the same area. It takes a little bit of trial and error with this one and there are safe ways to give people words of knowledge you might have received, which we will discuss in a later chapter.

2. Impressions: You just feel like you know something about the person for no apparent reason. This usually feels like a “gut instinct.” You can't explain how you know, you just know! Impressions are usually the most unclear of all other forms of revelation, so it 's always safest to just ask the person in a non-threatening way when sharing what you feel about them. Again, we'll talk about some practical how-to's later.

3. Mental pictures: Also called visions, sometimes you might see a picture in your mind that tells you about the person. This could be anything from a picture of an injured organ, to a word floating in your imagination. I've even heard of stories where people saw medical records scrolling through their minds and they just read off the list what they saw. I will not go into great detail about visions in this book, however, know that this is one way we can receive words of knowledge for people in the street.

4. Open visions/floating words: Open visions are when you see things with your natural eyes. It's not a picture in your imagination; you're really seeing it in real life! Sometimes you might see the word “cancer” floating above someone's head in mid-air. Other times you might see something printed across their shirt or on their forehead. There's no formula! God does things in many ways so just stay loose and open to anything.

5. Audible voice: You can actually hear a voice say what the problem is and you hear it either in your head, or with your natural ears as if someone was standing behind you talking. “Cancer” or “back pain” “upper disk” you might really hear with your own ears. Don't count these things out!

6.  Angels and Holy Visitations: Sometimes you might have an angel show up and tell you what's wrong with the person. Angels can take many forms so be aware. There have been instances where people have reported angels coming to show them problems with a person. Also, sometimes Jesus Himself might show up and do this, which has also been reported in some cases. Again, we will talk more about how to deliver this kind of information to people in a way that's non-spooky and non-threatening in a later chapter.

These are just a few ways words of knowledge can come. God is actually pretty creative and can change it up at any time. Like I said, just stay loose and in-tune with the Holy Spirit so you don't miss it when He tells you something. Especially if it's an impression. The way I've experienced words of knowledge has mostly been (at least so far) in the “feeling pains in my body” realm. One time I was sitting in church and I got two pains, one in the middle of my neck and the other in my right arm. I asked the Lord if that was for someone and the pain went away. About 20 minutes later a young couple came in and sat right behind me. One of them, a young man, had his left arm in a sling. After service, I asked what had happened and he said he had a problem with the middle of his neck which caused pain and numbness in his right arm. Wow! This is word of knowledge in action.

Another time, I received a word of knowledge by feeling pain in my left knee. I later bumped into a friend and I asked him on a whim if by any chance he had a problem there. He said yes due to a condition from birth which made one leg short than the other. We prayed together and his leg grew out instantly! Since then I have received many words of knowledge for healing. One word of knowledge experiment I did, because I like to have adventures with God, was to try posting words of knowledge on Facebook every day just to see what would happen. I started doing this last October (2012) and in the last year months have seen 39 people healed over the internet! In one case, a woman with a pair of swollen lymph nodes in the armpit received healing when the nodes instantly disappeared—just by her reading the word of knowledge! In another case, a girl with hearing loss due to a severe ear infection was instantly healed when reading a word of knowledge I posted for ear aches. All the pain left her ear and her ear opened up totally restored! Yay Jesus! The stories go on and on, and as you can see, words of knowledge are very real and God will definitely speak to you about other people's problems. Why? So needs can be met. That's what it's all about. Words of knowledge also aid in evangelism. Like in the case of the ex-Jehovah’s Witness story in the first chapter. My friend had received a word of knowledge about this man's back condition, which shocked him into letting us pray for him, and as a result he was instantly healed and put his faith in Jesus Christ!

"He sent His word and healed them..." —Psalm 107:20

In the Bible, one of the most famous occurrences of words of knowledge was Jesus and the woman at the well. In this passage, Jesus and His followers are traveling through Samaria. While His followers head into town to buy supplies, Jesus reclines by a certain well. There He meets a woman. After exchanging some dialogue Jesus demonstrates the word of knowledge: The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back." “I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” —John 4:15-18

Had Jesus ever met this woman before? No. Had she divulged this information upon their meeting? Go back and look at the passage for yourself and you'll see she did not. So how did Jesus know about her love life? Simple. It was a supernatural download of information from the Holy Spirit. It was a word of knowledge.

FAITH

The third type of dunamis on our list is faith. I know, how can faith be a supernatural? Either you believe in something or not, right? Well, true, we do have our own level of faith that comes through personal experience, worldview, upbringing, and via training our minds. However, there is also a supernatural faith that the Holy Spirit can give you in the moment to help achieve a miracle. The gift of faith, then, is the supernatural, 100% knowing a miracle is going to happen! It's the Holy Spirit literally letting you experience His faith. This usually results in very powerful creative miracles such as dead people coming back to life or amputees regrowing limbs. It's the substance that stops storms and causes mountains to throw themselves into the ocean. It's what I believe Jesus was referring to when we spoke of “the God-kind of faith” in Mark 11:23-24. Traditional translations have mistranslated this passed to “have faith in God,” but the original Greek does not make the same implication. I believe Jesus operated in a Gift of faith at the raising of Lazarus from the dead (see John 11:46).

In the book of Acts, Peter and the lame beggar is a good example of the gift of faith working:

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. —Acts 3:1-8

What leads me to believe Peter was operating with supernatural faith? Experience! I've been in the field and prayed for people on canes, crutches, and wheelchairs and personally know the sinking feeling of not believing they will be healed. It takes a lot of faith to be able to say with no fear or doubt, “get up and walk” and be totally convinced it's going to happen. I mean, if I'm wrong and they collapse and get hurt guess who's going to jail? Yeah, but that's Peter, you might be saying. He was an apostle. Exactly my point! Jesus-denying, ear-chopping, impulsive Peter! Peter was human just like us and struggled the same as we do. What I'm giving you is real talk. I've also experienced, however, what it's like when a gift of faith is in operation. One time, I prayed for a lady who had tennis elbow. When I heard this, something inside me jumped. I absolutely knew she was going to be healed. We prayed together and she was totally healed right there. How did I know she would be healed? I had supernatural confidence that it was going to be so. I didn't even think twice about it and that's not normal for me. It was God's faith working through me.

HEALING

Now this is the power we're all waiting to learn about, right? After all this is what this book is about — healing the sick in the streets! The gift of healing is the supernatural power to cure sickness, diseases, injuries, emotional hurts, as well as spiritual hurts. Healing is not to be confused with the gift of miracles. Healing deals more with recovery and curing than anything else. There are several ways this can occur, most of which is progressive, meaning the recovery from sickness or injury completes itself over a period of minutes, days, hours, months, or even years in some cases. I'll get more into that later, but know there's no need to get discouraged when you don't see an instant healing every time (although, instant healings are pretty sweet!).

Some common indicators that the Holy Spirit has placed His power on you to heal are:

1. Electricity/static sensations.

2. Fire or heat on your hands.

3. Tingling, prickling.

4. Icy/hot like sensations.

5. Nothing at all.

I include nothing at all because sometimes you won't feel anything on your body, yet despite that fact the Bible is darn clear — it's God's will to heal the sick (Matthew 10:8). You don't have to feel anything in order for a healing to occur. However, these are just a few sensations I've experienced and other people have reported experiencing too.

PROPHECY

Prophecy is the supernatural ability to speak the word's of God. Prophecy basically comes in two forms: foretelling and forth-telling. Prophecy is you speaking messages from God to another person. Forth-telling prophecies are exhortive in nature and are meant to encourage people. They “call forth” things into the now, which can result in healing, deliverance, encouragement and rekindling of hope, even changes in the circumstances going on in a person's life. Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 14:3, “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.”

Foretelling prophecy, however, deals with future events. If you want to look at some foretelling prophecies just open up the old testament to any one of the prophet books and you see nothing but foretelling messages about the fall of Jerusalem and the coming wrath of the Babylonians. The Book of Daniel and Revelation also deal with the end of the world, which are all foretelling prophecies. Jesus also prophesied in a foretelling manner when he spoke about the destruction of the temple in Matthew 24:1-2, which was later fulfilled by Emperor Nero. A really great book on gift of prophecy is Jack Deere's Beginner's Guide to the Gift of Prophecy which I list in the Recommended Reads section.

Some ways we can receive prophetic revelation (messages from God) are the same as words of knowledge:

1. Gut impressions.

2. Visions and dreams.

3. Angelic visitations.

4. Visitations from Jesus Himself.

5. Open vision with your natural eyes.

6. Audible voice.

Prophecies can contain warnings about the future, bring correction, or encourage and comfort us to keep holding on to God's promises for our lives. In the context of street healing, prophecy can be a powerful tool to bringing people to Christ as well as opening them up for healing prayer. Imagine that, giving someone a message from God in street!

MIRACLES

As I mentioned in the healing segment, the gift of miracles is not to be confused with healing. Whereas healing deals with recovery from illness, miracles deal with acts that defy the laws of space, matter, time, and energy. For example, when an amputee receives a new limb, that is not a healing, that is a miracle. Why? Because it involved the creation of new cells, new tissue, bone — a whole new limb! It wasn't the restoring of damaged tissue that was already there; it was the creation of new tissue out of nothing. The virgin birth (Luke 2:1-7), Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:1-11), multiplying the five loaves and two fish to feed the 5000 were all instances of miracles (Matthew 14:13-21). Jesus calming the storm was also a miracle (Mark 4:35-40) as well as walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33).

Another amazing instance of a miracle was in the book of Acts. As the story goes, Phillip the Evangelist was led by the Holy Spirit to an Ethiopian eunuch, who was riding along on his chariot reading the book of the prophet Isaiah. After Phillip explains the prophet's words concerning God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, the eunuch decides he too would like to be saved and baptized. Watch what happens:

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. —Acts 8:36-40

What?! Did you see what I saw? Phillip was there one minute with the eunuch, but then, in the blink of an eye, appeared in Azotus! Is that really possible? With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). This, in Christianity, is what we call a miracle of translation. Now personally, I like to call it teleportation, even though that seems to offend religious people. Yes, Phillip teleported. Call it whatever you want but that's what happened. The Holy Spirit bent space and time, and brought Phillip from one location to another. So awesome!

The bottom line: If it defies the laws of space and time then it's a miracle. Being able to stop the storm, walk on water, multiply food, raise the dead, or teleport requires a gift of miracles.

One instance of the gift of miracles seen in my life was when a friend had a splinter in her finger. We prayed together and the splinter instantly dissolved in her finger and vanished out of thin air. Why is this a miracle? Because there was a wooden object lodged in her finger and it disappeared totally. The matter and energy that formed the object was broken down and transported elsewhere.

Another miracle I can vividly remember happened to me personally. I was working outside and stepped on a roofing screw — wearing running shoes! The screw should have gone through my foot as it was almost two inches long, but I barely felt the tip of it on the bottom of my shoe even though it went all the way in! Does that bend matter, space, time and energy? Yes and thank you, God!

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN SPIRITS

Distinguishing between spirits is pretty much self-defined by its name. It is the supernatural power to sense or see spirits. This includes:

1. The Holy Spirit

2. Angels

3. Demons

4. Human spirits.

Please note on #4 I'm not referring to ghosts. The Bible is clear on what happens to human spirits after death: Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ go to heaven; those that did not are taken into hell till the day of judgment (Hebrews 9:27). By human spirits I mean you can sense when a person is near-by like at a grocery store. You might just start thinking about someone you know for seemingly no reason, then bump into them in aisle twelve. Ever experience that before? If so then you might have been operating under a supernatural sensing of spirits.

There are several ways this gift works. Sometimes you might just get impressions, like with the others. You just have a gut feeling that an entity is in the room be it good or bad. Another and more dramatic way this power may operate is you actually get to see angels and demons with your natural eyes. I remember one story a friend from church told me shortly after she was saved. She had been a model in the city, but after a series of dramatic events quit modeling and gave her life to Jesus. However, still being new, she went to a nightclub one night to dance like she always used to do. However,  this time was very different than the others. Among the crowd, she noticed dark figures hovering over all of the dancers, manipulating them like puppets. Wow!

One time I can recall more recently operating under this type of dunamis was one night in bed. I woke up and I saw a giant spider-like creature hovering over me. It was huge and disgusting! Now not all instances of this gift are focused on demons and bad things, but make no mistake about it — the Holy Spirit can give you power to see into the spirit world. The power to distinguish between spirits! This is a very handy gift in the street, because it can help us determine the root cause of an issue, which is something we'll look at in the next few chapters.

TONGUES

The gift of tongues is the first gift I started moving in. Upon my first baptism in the Holy Spirit, I began speaking in a supernatural language that I never knew before. Tongues has several important functions and can be very handy in preparation to praying for the sick in the street. The first and most important aspect of the gift of tongues is that it allows you to pray for detailed and specific circumstances that you could never know about in your natural mind (1 Corinthians 14:2 + Romans 8:26). What does that look like? Say there is a village in Ghana, Africa, that is about to be destroyed, but you live in America in a nice, quiet suburb. There's no way you could know what's about to happen in Ghana as you sit on your couch watching re-runs of The Voice. However, the gift of tongues allows you to pray and the Holy Spirit from that prayer is able to move and rescue the village from destruction because of it. So in terms of street healing, you can see this being very important, because you can pray for people you'll meet out in the field before you even meet them. Isn't that awesome?

A second function of tongues is it builds up your spirit-man (1 Corinthians 14:4). As we discussed earlier, you are a tripartite being (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Well, under normal circumstances, our bodies and minds control our thoughts, feelings, and intuitions. However, when you spend some time praying in tongues, it actually pumps up your spiritual senses. Think of it like turning on WIFI for better signal. It helps you receive clear messages from God and focuses your spiritual senses so you'll have an easier time discerning His voice.

Another cool function of tongues is at times you can end up supernaturally speaking a human language you've never learned before like Japanese (Acts 2). How would you like to go to China and speak Chinese, even though you never learned Chinese? Or to Israel and speak Hebrew? This can also happen under the gift of tongues.

INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES

This one is just like it sounds. It's the supernatural power to decode or understand something said in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:27).

This can operate three ways:

1. You can understand something you've spoken in tongues and then interpret it for other people (1 Corinthians 14:13).

2. You can understand and translate something someone else said in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:27).

3. You can understand something being spoken or written in another human language, such as Spanish (Acts 2).

Though I have yet to function in this power, I have personally witnessed this phenomena countless times. One in particular, at church, my pastor spoke in a tongue and another person from the congregation translated it — it was a message from God! My uncle also has received an interpretation of tongues once. He said the translation came to him in the form of a vision. He didn't go up to translate the message as he was unsure of what was going on. Then the pastor translated the message and it turned out to be the same thing he had envisioned!

KINDA LIKE SWISS-ARMY KNIVES

Before we move on to the next chapter, I want to stress my personal experience with the spiritual gifts once again. Every believer, no matter who you are or where you come from, can move in any of these powers at anytime as needed. Again, many believers get into the rut of worrying about which gift they have and it becomes a hoarder mentality. This is why I don't like to call them “gifts” as much as “super powers” because super powers are meant to be used for peace, justice, and the heavenly way! God will use you if you are willing to do any of the above. It's kind of like being a Swiss Army Knife. God will put the right tool for the right job in your hands. This has been my experience and if you'll just step out to try it for yourself, He'll do the same for you.

So now that we know the nine kinds of power God gives us to destroy the works of the devil, let's start talking about how to access this power to heal the sick in the streets.

C H A P T E R   F I V E

Accessing Dunamis

L E T  'S   quickly review everything we've discussed so far:

1. We are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus  (Galatians 3:26). God is our loving Daddy who adores us and accepts us no matter what.

2. Because we are children of God, we have been given authority and  power to destroy the works of the devil and rule over all the earth. (Genesis 1:26 + John 14:12).

3. There are nine types of power God can give us to help people in the street. They are called the gifts of the Spirit and we can move in any one of them at any time (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

With that fresh in mind, let's talk about how to unlock this power in your day to day comings and goings.

STEP ONE: BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

If you were a soldier called to war, would you simply get up, put on your uniform, then head off to the battle zone without first picking up your weapons? No, you would first have to go to the armory to check out your grenades, rifle, knife, clips, and so on. You would have to get equipped for the fight. Street healing is a supernatural war. It's the kingdom of God fighting against the kingdom of Satan, and in order for us to throw off the devil's power we need to make sure we check out our weapons. Therefore, the first thing we have to do in order to get equipped is go to the armory. We have to go to the Source of our power –- the Holy Spirit! This may seem rather obvious, but you would be surprised how many people don't ever even talk to the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit? Why, He's God on earth! I'm serious. Think about it: Jesus is not on earth, He's in heaven at the right hand of the Father in glory (Mark 16:19). So, if Jesus is in heaven and if the Father is also in heaven, who's here with us on earth? It's the Holy Spirit (John 16:7).

I mentioned earlier that the Holy Spirit is a person. This can't be emphasized enough. The Holy Spirit is a person with His own distinct personality, which means He has the capacity to be our friend. Personal friendship is key to true success in street healing. Why? Because the more time you spend just hanging out with the Holy Spirit, the easier it becomes to sense His presence and His voice. Just like building a relationship with anyone else. Miracles begin with intimacy.

So if the first step is to go to the Source of all power, then we need to filled with the Holy Spirit. Though there are several ways that this can occur, let's look at two, major ways outlined in scripture.

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

The first way you can be filled with the Spirit of God is by simply asking for it. This is how I received a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit the night before my grandmother's burial. I simply asked God and He poured out the Holy Spirit on me. In Luke 11, we see Jesus teach on this very same thing:

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” — Luke 11:9-13

So the first way we can receive an in-filling of the Holy Spirit is by simply asking God to send Him to us.

Also, I want to quickly address this topic of “refilling.” I want to make it clear that there is some arguing within the church as to how many times we need to be filled with the Spirit of God. Some theologians claim you are filled once and that's all you need forever; others say there is a constant need to be filled over and over again. The Bible, however, is clear that receiving the Holy Spirit is not a one time event. Paul describes this process best in his letter to the Ephesians 5:18, “Don't be drunk on wine, but be filled with the Spirit.” The verb “filled” in this line is actually not a past tense verb, but a present tense verb that means to be continually filled on an on-going basis. So it's about a lifestyle abiding in the presence of God, where we are able to stay saturated and full of God's Spirit and power. One way I personally do this is through soaking. Soaking is a more modern term for waiting on God. It's simply resting/hanging out in the manifest presence of God. Soaking in God's presence is where the Holy Spirit can come upon you and make all kinds of supernatural changes to you life, such as supernaturally change your bad attitudes, give you supernatural peace, develop supernatural character and integrity in your life, heal you of sicknesses, deliver you from demons or addictions — it's incredible! I liken soaking to hanging out in a sauna. When you go into a sauna, you go to soak in a room filled with steam. You sit down and relax and let the steam do its work. Well, soaking prayer is just like that. Bill Johnson from Bethel Church likens soaking to a entering a smoky room. When you hang out in a smoke-filled room long enough, the fragrance and essence of that room gets all over you. You end up smelling like smoke. So it is with hanging out in God's presence. You do it long enough and you end up having God all over you! That, my friend, allots for many miraculous things to happen. This is also how I believe Peter's shadows healed people as well as how people got healed just by touching Jesus' robe. How do I know? I've done it! I've had some amazing breakthroughs just by hanging out in the presence of God this way. God has changed and softened my heart so much and I've also seen a great increases in power. In one instance, while serving one morning at the Bethel Healing Rooms, I was ministering to a woman with 15-year-old pain in the hip, which went down into the leg. During prayer time, I put a prayer cloth over my shoulders like a cloak and told the woman I was going to walk by her like Jesus did to the woman with the issue of blood, and all she had to do was reach out and touch the “hem of my garment.” Well, we did it: I walked by, the woman touched the hem of the prayer cloth, and immediately all pain left her body. It was that simple!

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Impartation, otherwise known as transference of of power, is a second major way you can receive an in-filling of the Holy Spirit. This can be achieved several ways as well,  however, the overt, “main way” outlined in scripture is via laying on of hands. Of the several impartations I've received, many came this way. One great way to receive impartation via laying on of hands is by going through fire tunnels, which we will also discuss later too. Each time I received impartation this way I was refilled with the Holy Spirit and began to immediately move in a measure of the other person's gifts. I was both refilled with the Spirit of God and the power for miracles, signs, and wonders. And yes, you can be too!

Here are two instances in the book of Acts where people were filled with the Holy Spirit via laying on of hands:

1. “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”— Acts 19:6

2.  “When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” —Acts 8:15

So let's pray together right now for your in-filling. Repeat after me: Father, You said You would pour out Your Spirit on all flesh if I'll just ask. I receive and welcome Your Holy Spirit now. Holy Spirit, I invite You to come right now and fill me up with Your presence. Fill me up from the soles of my feet to the top of my head to overflowing.

In Jesus name. Amen!

Did you pray that prayer? I guarantee if you did then you've received what you've asked for. How do I know? Because it was according to the Word of God!

STEP TWO: UNLOCKING DIFFERENT TYPES OF DUNAMIS

Just as we talked about being filled with the Holy Spirit via asking and impartation, so it is with unlocking any one of the nine gifts.

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12, just after outlining the nine gifts, then goes on to state: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. v.27-31

So here we see Paul telling us one way to receive activation in a certain “super power” is to eagerly desire it. This is also what I did when I first began moving in healing and prophecy. I wanted to do it, so I just asked God and then went looking for opportunities to heal and prophesy over people.

Unlocking different powers can also come through impartation too. Timothy in the Bible received a gift this way:

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” — 2 Timothy 1:6

One thing we always do at our outreaches is pray prayers of impartation for new-comers so they can immediately go out and begin moving in the same powers we do. Why? Because some people tend to move stronger in certain gifts than others. For example, I have friends who have stronger prophetic giftings than me. So one short cut to remedy this is through impartation. It's a quick level-up and a great tool to moving in the different giftings. I strongly encourage everyone to go to revivals and to renewal meetings where you can receive these kinds of impartations from people. Get there however you can and pay any price. It's worth it! God designed the system this way and it really works. I received an impartation of healing power from Benny Hinn, who received his from Katheryn Kuhlman. Whole worldwide revivals were started this way too, like the Toronto Blessing back in 1994. Look it up and see for yourself.

Remember, the source of the power isn't the man — it's God! However, impartation is a principle God designed so making the most of it can really aid in your street healing efforts. Like my  favorite TV show host Sid Roth always says, “it's an ancient secret to the supernatural!”

THE POWER OF THE TESTIMONY

A second way to receive impartations of power is through listening to, reading, and watching testimonies. In the old testament, the Hebrew root word for testimony — 'uwd (Strong's 5749) — literally means to do again. In Revelation 19:10, the Bible states that the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. This means that any written or spoken account of something God has done releases the supernatural power to repeat the same miracle. It imparts the ability for the same thing to be done again. When I first heard about this principle, I immediately went to test it. I prayed for three people with conditions that caused one leg to be shorter than the other. After sharing testimonies of the same miracle, true to word all three legs grew out! Another example of this principle in action was one morning while volunteering at the Bethel Healing Rooms. A woman came in with severe tendonitis in both elbows. Before we began praying, I felt Holy Spirit prompt me to share a testimony of someone I had seen healed of tennis elbow two years prior. I shared the testimony and the woman was instantly healed right there on the spot! Not only that, but she went up on stage to testify that she had been healed. The principle of the testimony contains real dunamis power to not only duplicate the same miracle, but also release impartation for the same miracle power to be at work. So what I've done is compiled a list of 200 videos on YouTube of various healing testimonies from Benny Hinn and Katheryn Kuhlman crusades to street healing outings with Tom Fischer, Todd White, John Mellor, revival clips, interviews with people on Sid Roth's show, It's Supernatural!, and Bethel Healing Rooms testimonies. When I go to sleep at night, I'm literally being drowned in an atmosphere of impartation!

Another thing I've noticed in the field is that certain miracles come easier than others. For example, I've seen lots of legs grow out that were shorter than the other. However, I've never prayed for someone in a wheelchair and had them get out (yet). So that’s why I make sure I have a bunch of wheelchair healing testimonies on my playlist. That plus praying for lots of people in wheelchairs will eventually lead to unlocking that healing on a regular basis. How do I know? Because the principle of testimony works. I believe this is why I've seen lots of miracles for legs growing out, because in the early days when I was just getting started, I watched lots of YouTube videos of people in the street praying for legs that grew out. How was this possible? Because the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy! I received an impartation through the testimony and you can also.

QUICK-LIST: HOW TO UNLOCK THE POWER OF GOD

1. Get filled with the Holy Spirit. Two major ways you can do this is via asking God (Luke 11:9-13) or impartation (Acts 19:6). Spend time with Him in friendship. Hang out with Him. Soak in His presence. Read the Word with Him and pray in tongues for one hour a day.

2. Ask God for the gifts you want to move in (1 Corinthians 12:31). Don't quit till He gives them to you.

3. Get impartations from people who move powerfully in the gift you want to move in (2 Timothy 1:6). Go to every revival meeting you can find. It's worth the cost!

4. Listen to testimonies of miracles that have happened in the area of gifting you want to move in. This includes reading scriptures, making YouTube playlists of miracles, reading books on healing and articles containing real testimonies of miracles, signs, and wonders. Remember, the testimony of Jesus releases duplicate miracle-working power (Revelation 19:10)!

5. Go out and do it. Nothing get's God's power on you faster than just stepping out to pray for people. Trust me, it's His reputation on the line; not yours.

In our next chapter, it's time to start talking about how God view sickness, which will give us a clearer picture as to how to actually execute street healing effectively. We'll be modeling our methodology after Jesus, of course, since He came to show us how it's done.

C H A P T E R   S I X

How Jesus Did It

T H E   G O S P E L  of Mark is my personal favorite. It's nothing but one dramatic miracle after another in the ministry of Jesus. From walking on water to healing the sick, to cleansing lepers, to feeding multitudes of hungry Jews, Mark emphasizes the importance of signs and wonders as convincing proof that Jesus is Lord. However, was there a method to the Lord's madness? Or did Jesus simply bark commands once the power of God was on Him and things happened without any further principles involved? If Jesus is the model for us to copy then we inquiring minds needs to know: How did Jesus do it? In order to find the answers, we'll need to understand how God views sickness in regards to the human creature. Once again, to do that, we'll have to return to our roots, to the time of Adam and Eve.

SPIRIT + SOUL + BODY

In chapter 2 we saw that when God created the human race, he took the dust of the earth and breathed into it a spirit-being called man (Genesis 2:7). The spirit-being was given a house made of dirt to live in and a mind to process and think for himself. Adam was a living soul. Why is this important to revisit? This is important because in order to heal the sick like Jesus, we need to approach healing the same way He did. This begins with how we see others. We need to see people the way God sees them. How does God see people? As a whole person. We are not just lumps of meat or some sort of advanced animal. We are spiritual entities living in earthen vessels, with a personality and a mind of our own. Each of these parts are connected and can affect the other greatly. This truth is one of the first things I learned in the field. Many times I've run into people that have terrible back or neck pain, but then come to find out, the pain is really the result of stress, emotional or psychological problems. The sickness in the soul spreads to other parts of a person's being. Scientific research backs up this reality, as many physical problems are now being linked with stress and emotional trauma, otherwise known as psychosomatic illness.

Jesus also took this worldview, which is illustrated in the story of the man at the pool of Bethesda.

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.—John 5:1-14

So here we see a crippled man laying by a certain pool for thirty-eight years. Imagine the emotional discouragement this man must have endured due to such a long period of chronic paralysis. Then, Jesus comes along and heals the man, and tells him to stop sinning, recognizing that the man's spiritual illness (sin) has impacted other parts of his being (physical and mental). So if such a case is true concerning how the man got sick, the same is then also true concerning God's view of healing as well. When God heals, He doesn't just heal one part of the person, but the whole person. He not only healed the man's body, Jesus also cleanses his spirit of sin and brought peace to his soul.

Another passage containing this worldview can be found in John:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” —John 10:10

The Greek word “life” in this passage is zoe, or, "to have ongoing life to full in every part of your being.”

God wants to heal every area of our beings! That's how we ought to view healing in the street as well. We venture to bring healing to the whole person. To not only relieve them of pain, but also bring peace to their souls, encourage, and build them up.

HOW JESUS SAW IT

First off, Jesus views people as a whole person. Jesus teaches us that each piece is connected and can be affected by the other. This means there are three areas of illnesses people can suffer in:

1. Physical illness. This includes diseases, sicknesses, and injuries like a broken leg.

2. Emotional/mental illness. This includes stress, psychological trauma and emotional disorders/conditions.

3. Spiritual illness. Sin as well as demonic oppression and in some cases possession.

Each of these can be deadly if left unchecked, spreading into the other parts of our being. However, like Jesus, our mindset must be to heal the whole person. Not just to see the physical body healed, but also peace and restoration to the mind and spirit.

"...he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul."—Psalm 23:3

HOW JESUS VIEWS SICKNESS

In the days of Adam and Eve, there was no such thing as sickness or disease. True, God created all kinds of bacteria and germs to help support the complex ecosystems here on planet earth, yet they could not attack and destroy the bodies of God's children. In fact, if an invading germ had even attempted such a thing, it would have been as easy as a swift rebuke and all would have been back to normal. Adam never had a runny nose a day in his life. Then came the fall and bacteria invaded the body and began to destroy. The keys of the kingdom were handed over to Satan and the ecosystems of the creation went into chaos. Animals devoured each other. Germs chewed on human flesh. Now many gazillions of years later we have cancers running amok in America, killing hundreds of thousand of people a year. Aids reigns supreme in many countries. How could this have happened?

Though God may have created bacteria in all it's forms, that doesn't mean the original intent was to destroy human beings. However, a creation in chaos is left to devour itself. Like with any country, when left in an anarchy state, only the strong survive. With no rules and laws, it's anything goes. Survival by whatever means necessary. Then, on top of this, history's greatest terrorist is running around with the crown of earth's authority on his head. The kingdom of hell and its hordes were in charge. Because of this, now the bacterias that God originally created to help the systems of the earth were used against its rightful heirs. The devil turned what God made for good into weapons of biological warfare.

In the Bible, Jesus dealt ruthlessly with sickness and disease. He viewed it as an agent of the enemy, as if it were a regiment under the devil's personal command. Let's take a look at a few examples of how Jesus viewed sickness based on His dealings with sick people.

Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. — Luke 4:38-39

As we see here, Jesus rebuked the fever. This means he confronted the fever head on as one would confront an enemy on the battlefield. This is identical to the way He handled demons that were possessing and tormenting people. Here's an example of that:

Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.—Mark 1:23-26

See? Jesus rebukes the demon just as he did the fever! Therefore, we must conclude that Jesus treats sickness the same as the minions of the devil's kingdom, and we too must do likewise. Now don't get me wrong, obviously not all sickness is caused by the devil. I advocate personal responsibility concerning physical fitness and nutrition. We should be taking care of ourselves as our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We can't blame the enemy for our own short comings. However, this book takes the position that regardless of how a disease gets there, all sickness must be treated ruthlessly and destroyed.

JESUS UNDERSTOOD SOME SICKNESSES WERE CAUSED BY DEMONS

Another thing Jesus never denied was that demons sometimes were the root cause of illnesses. When the root cause of an illness was demonic, Jesus attacked without mercy. The truth is we were born into a spiritual war zone and have lived through countless battles realize it or not. Satan and his demons are constantly trying to steal, kill, and destroy, yet it was the mission of Jesus to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The clash itself is what we call a power encounter, when the kingdom of God goes directly up against the kingdom of Satan. Concerning street healing, a power encounter occurs when you, the street healer, go to pray for someone in need. The power of the devil's kingdom, which is keeping the person you are praying for in bondage, comes into direct contact with God's kingdom power! The result is a battle between the two forces. This is why we need to come equipped for war. However, like all good warriors, being equipped with weapons isn't enough. We also need a good war strategy. Turn the page and let's see some of the strategies Jesus, the General of all generals, used to destroy the works of the devil.

C H A P T E R   S E V E N

The Jesus Method

S O  lets dive in and look at some of the things Jesus did to release the kingdom of God to destroy the works of the devil.

#1: JESUS HAD A PRAYER LIFE AND INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH GOD

The first thing I noticed about Jesus in the early days of my healing studies was that He had a vibrant prayer life. The scriptures reveal that Jesus prayed often and sometimes would spend long hours building intimacy with God. Here are just a few examples:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. — Mark 1:35-39

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. — Luke 6:12

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. —Matthew 14:22-25

So it's no question whether or not Jesus had a real prayer life full of heart-to-heart connect with His Father. What does that have to do with street healing you might be wondering? Well, just about everything! Prayer is one of the most important power keys to effective street healing. This simple truth will once again take us back to the creation of mankind, which is also introduces to the function and necessity of prayer.

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

In Genesis 1:26, as we've already studied a gazillion times in this guide, we recount the creation of the human species. However, there was so much more in the mind of God when He said, let them have dominion over the earth. In fact, I alluded to this once already in chapter two, this is where God also established the function and necessity of prayer! Why? Because when God created the human race, as we already know, He delegated supreme governing authority to us (dominion) over earth. The key here is when God said, “let them have dominion.” God, in His infinite wisdom, decided to limit His own sovereignty concerning the affairs of earth. Why? I couldn't even begin to fathom the real reason behind it. I can give you tons of theological answers and speculations, though the truth is it's just the way He did it and that's all I can really say about it. Regardless of whatever the real and true reason may be, God removed Himself from the equation. Therefore, prayer, by definition, is giving God legal permission to intervene in the affairs of earth. It's giving God legal access to come and “do His thing” on planet earth. It's releasing heaven on earth! Yes, God plays by His own rules; God follows His own system just like everything else in the universe –- including the bad guys! The system of the kingdom of God!

Remember when we read Matthew 16:19, where Jesus talked about binding a loosing? This is also a reaffirmation of the principle of prayer. Prayer looses God on earth to do as He desires and binds the devil from doing harm to people. Why? Because God gave humans legal authority on planet earth, and because He is not a man that should lie (Numbers 23:19), God follows His own Word. Consequently, a lack of prayer binds God from moving on earth and looses the devil, so as you can see, prayer is an essential power key to street healing because when we spend time in prayer before hitting the streets, God now has free access to move powerfully. How do I know this? Because that's how Jesus did it!

In the story of the demon possessed boy, Jesus, Peter, James and John had just returned from the mountain of transfiguration. As they hit the streets, Jesus found His other disciples trying to cast out a demon to no avail. After a swift rebuke from Jesus, the demon was cast out and the boy healed. Later in private, the disciples came to Jesus wondering why they could not cast it out themselves. Here's what Jesus had to say about it:

After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Some translations add prayer and fasting to the mix. Regardless, the principle still remains the same. Jesus is giving us a key truth: prayer allows heaven to invade earth. This why Jesus said in Matthew 6:9-10 “This is how you should pray. Our Father, who is in heaven. Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

In other words, the purpose behind prayer is to release heaven on earth. Why? So what's in heaven will come into the earth to make earth look just like heaven! What's in heaven? Oh, only healing, deliverance, peace, joy, rest, wealth, restoration, and so much more! These are all things in heaven God longs to bring to earth. How is this done? One way is through prayer. If we want to be effective street healers, we must do as Jesus did and spend time in prayer everyday—especially before going out to heal the sick! I always put it to people this way: Praying for the sick happens when you are alone in your room; healing the sick, however, is God using you to be the answer to those prayers.

Let me say that again: Praying for the sick happens in your alone time with God; healing the sick is God using you to be the answer to those prayers.

You know the one thing most American Christians do not have is a vibrant prayer life. If you were to ask 100 Christians how much time they spend in prayer a day, the results would be shocking. In America, the average time a church pastor spends in prayer is less than 5 minutes a day! Now wonder why 80% of all American churches are 100 people or less. I can't say I'm exempt for this either. I've had a pretty ugly prayer life in the past too. I won't lie, there are still days when I don't feel like praying and don't! What? But aren't I the one writing this book? This is real talk, folks. We all make mistakes and fall short of the glory of God. However, I can also tell you from experience that miracles and revelation have flowed so much more smoothly and powerfully when I've spent time in prayer before hitting the streets. Not to say there haven't been times when God has done mighty things despite me not praying, but this is a principle that I have tested and have seen work for real. Prayer allows the power to come down! It's releasing the supernatural so that through ours lives God can touch others, whether for street healing or anything else. This is why Paul tells us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Why? Because prayer is us giving God constant access to help people on planet earth.

#2: JESUS LOVED THE PEOPLE

The second (and I would say the most important) thing Jesus did when healing the sick was He loved on the people He ministered to. Jesus didn't treat the people that came to Him harshly or like they were science experiments. No, Jesus treated people as human beings, as people in need of a touch from their heavenly Daddy.

Here are a few instances where the Bible highlights the compassion of Jesus:

Matthew 9:36-38. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 15:32. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

Matthew 20:29-34. As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

Mark 1:41-42. And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

Luke 7:12-15. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

Luke 19:41-44.  “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

John 11:32-35. Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept.

The ministry and life of Jesus was fueled by love. Love is the quintessential and most important ingredient in ministry and the mark of true spiritual maturity (1 Corinthians 13). It's the reason why we do what we do, and why Jesus did it in the first place! The entire gospel is founded on love, for it was God who so loved the world that He gave up His son Jesus as a ransom for many (John 3:16). When ministering to people in the street, the number one rule to follow is the rule of love. Regardless of what transpires, whether they jump up out of a wheelchair or nothing at all seems to happen, the one thing a person should always say after leaving an encounter is that they felt the love of Jesus coming through us. It's not our job to heal; it's simply our job to love. Love never fails! We'll talk more about this in the up coming chapters.

"Love never fails.” —1 Corinthians 13:8

#3: JESUS RELEASED THE KINGDOM OF GOD

The third thing Jesus did when healing the sick is He released the kingdom of God into a person's life. Back in chapter three we talked about the kingdom of God being a government and the main message Jesus preached during His earthly ministry. Under God's government, which is perfectly enforced in heaven, things like sin, sickness, disease, demons, depression and every other evil cannot exist. And as we also discussed previously, it's the will of God to expand His kingdom on earth just as it is in heaven. So where exactly is the kingdom and how did Jesus expand it on earth as it is in heaven? The first clue comes from the Apostle Paul, who tells us in Romans 14:17 that “...the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Himself gives us another clue in Matthew 12:28 when He said, “I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then know the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

The key here is that the kingdom of God is found in the Holy Spirit. Where the Holy Spirit is, the kingdom is, and where the kingdom is present, healing is present. How do we know? Because the kingdom is in the Holy Spirit, who carries with Him the government of God—the realm where God's will and divine order are perfectly enforced. So like we said earlier, if there's no sickness and disease in heaven, then that means when heaven comes to earth all sickness has to leave. The bottom line: When the Holy Spirit shows up, the kingdom shows up, and when the kingdom shows up people get healed. When Jesus healed the sick in the streets and drove out demons, He did it by the power of the Holy Spirit. He didn't pray fancy prayers or engage in religious rituals, He simply released the Holy Spirit into a person's life to set them free. He released the kingdom of God to destroy the kingdom of Satan, resulting in a miracle. Jesus was a kingdom releaser.

Here are three easy ways from the scriptures Jesus demonstrates releasing the kingdom:

1.) Word of Command – A word of command is often a very powerful way Jesus dealt with infirmities, especially demonic spirits. A word of command is a simple form of prayer that deals with commanding the body to do something. When using a word of command, Jesus talks to the ailment as if it were a person and tells it leave the body. In the case of a demonic entity, Jesus commands the entity to leave. This is a powerful way Jesus expressed His rulership over the realm of earth, effectively releasing His government over the place where the enemy once occupied. Jesus also tells us His words are Spirit and life. This means that when Jesus spoke it released the Holy Spirit, containing in Himself, like we studied earlier, the kingdom of God. Words of command are an effective way Jesus used His authority in conjunction with the power of the Holy Spirit to release the kingdom. (Luke 4:39 + Luke 4:35 + Matthew 17:18 + Mark 7:31-37)

2.) Laying on of hands/physical touch – A second way Jesus released the kingdom was through physical touch. This included touching lepers, laying hands on the ill, as well as coming into physical contact with others such as the woman with the issue of blood, and those that would touch the hem of His garment on the roadside. (Luke 4:40)

3.) Prophetic act – A prophetic act is a prompted, physical action initiated by the Holy Spirit that releases breakthrough. In other words, prophetic acts are acts we do in the natural that release a miracle in the supernatural. Two instances of releasing the kingdom through a prophetic act can be seen in the story of Jesus placing mud on the blind man's eyes as well as spitting in the eyes of another. (John 9:6 + Mark 8:23).

ROOT FALACY

One concept the Church has believed for a long time (and of which I used to believe as well and even wrote in a former edition of this book) is that we need to diagnose root causes before we can see people healed. However, neither the Bible or personal experience has seemed to back up that claim. At least not 100% of the time. In fact, when we look at all of the instances of Jesus healing people in the scriptures, many times He addressed the root cause after they were healed. Here is a classic example of that in action from John 5:1-14:

Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

See? So Jesus didn't always attack roots in prayer in order for a healing to occur, which in this man's case was sin. He simply healed the man and coached him post healing so that he could continue walking in divine health just as God intends for all. While there may be times we do need to address root causes as Holy Spirit prompts us, many times this is not as necessary as we have believed, and something I can attest to as I've gained more experience walking in healing ministry. That's grace for you, folks. Grace says, "I'm not getting what I deserve; I'm getting better than what I deserve." Jesus paid for every healing on planet Earth when He died on the cross and it is by His wounds we have been healed (Isaiah 53). The only hindrances to healing are ones between the ears, limits we put on God due to bad theology. God is breaking the strongholds and showing us He's bigger than even the most incurable of incurable diseases. Jesus paid for it; we are simply getting Jesus what He paid for. Now am I saying we will never have to deal with a root issue? No. Jesus did in a certain cases. What I am saying, though, is unless Holy Spirit reveals one to you, you don't have to go on a witch hunt to find them. Just ask God how He wants to partner together to release the kingdom and go for it!

HOW JESUS DEALT WITH DEMONS

Sometimes Jesus encountered people who were demonized. Jesus didn't deny this fact and dealt with the demonic accordingly. In the many accounts of deliverance in scripture, I've noticed three things Jesus did when He dealt with demons:

1. He commanded them to be quiet.

2. He commanded them to leave the person's body.

3. He told the demons where to go.

In one account of deliverance, just after the launch of His ministry, we see Jesus preaching in a synagog in Capernaum. Suddenly a demon-possessed man appears in the crowd and starts raising hell:

Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. –- Mark 1:23-26

Here we see Jesus outline the first two principles of casting out devils: He commanded the demon to be quiet and also to leave the person's body.

The third thing Jesus did was tell the demons where to go. Luke 8:28-31 is a wonderful depiction of this principle in action. Jesus, having crossed into the Garasenes, is confronted by the man possessed by the Legion. This is what unfolds:

“What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. –-  Luke 8:28-31

Why did Jesus tell the demons where to go and not just say “come out” and be done with it? Because if a demon is not told where to go it will try to come back and possess the person all over again –- and with friends! Jesus speaks of this later in Luke 11:24 when He says, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.”

Therefore, demons must be told where to go. And the only place acceptable for them go is the abyss!

#4: JESUS TESTED THE RESULTS

Another thing Jesus did after praying for the sick is He then tested the results of the encounter. He didn't just say, “be well, my child.” then leave them there lying on the ground. No, He tested the results to see if the person was well by either asking them if there was any change in their situation, or outright challenging them to do what they could not. Let's see what Jesus did:

1. Jesus and the blind man at the pool of Bethesda: They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” –- Mark 8:22-25

2. Jesus heals the crippled man: So Jesus said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. –- Mark 2:11-12

3. Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead: After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. –Luke 8:40-56

Jesus tested the results of His healing practice. In the first account of the blind man Jesus overtly asks the man if he can see anything. Jesus also helped the dead girl to her feet as well as challenging the crippled man to get up and go home in front of everyone. He didn't just spout a healing payer then walk off without seeing what took place. Jesus tested the results. Why? Two major reasons:

1.) So people could witness the miracle and believe in His name.

2.) In case there needed to be more prayer involved.

What? You mean Jesus had to pray twice? See for yourself...

#5: JESUS KEPT PRAYING IF NEED BE

Jesus had to pray twice and I'll prove it. As recorded in the book of Mark, Jesus meets a blind man at the pool of Bethesda. Here's what went down:

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?”

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. –- Mark 8:22-25

That pretty much sums it up, folks. Even Jesus had to pray twice. This is why He tested the results after His healing prayers, in case a person needed more ministry time. If Jesus had to pray twice, be assured there are times when we will have to do also (and maybe more than twice).

THINGS JESUS DID

Let's review the principles Jesus practiced in His healing ministry:

1. Jesus had a prayer life and intimate connection with God.

2. Jesus was moved with compassion for the people.

3. Jesus released the kingdom of God (God's government) into a person's situation, whether it be for healing or anything else that was needed.

4. Jesus tested the results of His prayers.

5. Jesus contented till breakthrough came.

Over the next four chapters we will look at the way I train people to 'do the stuff' on our outings. Now we get to the good stuff. Yipee!

"As the Father has sent me so I send you." -John 20:21

C H A P T E R   E I G H T

Preparing for War

T I M E  for another quick recap. Remember, repetition burns information into our memory banks! So far we've learned (and reviewed) who we are in Christ Jesus, being sons and daughters of God (Galatians 3:26), the power and authority that comes with our family name (Genesis 1:26 + Matthew 16:19), and how Jesus demonstrated that authority and power to put the devil to shame by releasing the kingdom of God wherever He went (Acts 10:38).

Now it's your turn.

So what are some practical ways to go about healing the sick in the streets? Before we examine the first phase of our healing guide, here are two “preparation steps” I personally take before hitting the streets.

DEVELOP AN "ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN” MIND-SET

The first step in preparing for spiritual war is developing an “on earth as it is in heaven” mindset. Think about it like this: If you broke your arm and then were immediately transported to heaven, what would happen? Your arm would be instantly healed, right? Or what about if you caught a cold? You would be instantly healed the second you stepped into that supernatural land. Why? Because there's no sickness or disease in heaven! There is no pain, suffering, injury, addictions, or demons in heaven. You would be instantly made whole if you were to go there right this very second. In the Bible, Jesus said we ought to view our time on Earth here the same way. To quote the Master directly, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). This means if it doesn't exist in heaven, then it's not supposed to be here on earth either. And that's the attitude we have to carry with us wherever we go. If you ever start questioning if it's God's will to heal someone just reflect back on what Jesus said — on earth as it is in heaven! If's sickness is not in heaven, then it's God will for everyone to be healed. Why? Because God wants earth to look just like heaven. He wants us to experience heaven here and now so that's the mindset we must carry.

Here are some practical ways to train your mind to think on earth as it is in heaven.

1. Read and re-read the gospels, especially Mark and Luke. These two books cover much of Jesus' healing ministry.

2. Read lots of books on healing from generals of the faith (such as the ones listed in the Recommended Reads section).

3. Listen to or watch testimonies of healings, miracles, signs and wonders. The more you expose yourself to this reality, the more you'll consider it!

4. Listen to teachers who train people to move in miracles in their everyday lives. Some teachers I personally listen to are Bill Johnson (Bethel Church), Randy Clark (Global Awakening), John Arnott (Catch the Fire), David Herzog (The Glory Zone), Jonathan Welton (Jon Welton Ministries), Benny Hinn, Matt Sorger (Matt Sorger Ministries), Patricia King (Extreme Prophetic), and Jeff Jansen (Global Fire). These teachers are deeply rooted in the miraculous. Listening to supernatural perspectives will rub off on you. After all, you are who you run with!

5. When you see people in the street with wheelchairs, canes, crutches, or with any type of overt issues get into the habit of saying silently to yourself, “that's not in heaven.”

6. Write a list of different sicknesses and diseases down on paper and then next to each write “not in heaven.”

Some of the above may sound silly to you, but your mind needs to be focused and trained to think supernaturally or “kingdom first,” as some like to put it. In order to do this, however, we have to unlearn a lot of unkingdom-like thought patterns. Why? Because we live in America (if you're reading this and not living in America just bare with me), and in America it is our culture to think logically and rationally, ignoring the supernatural altogether. You see, since we were little kids we have been spoon-fed a naturalistic, secularist worldview about the universe. Even if you were raised in a Christian home, if you went to any type of public school system you've been taught since you were five years old to forget about the supernatural and adopt a post-modern, naturalistic/evolutionary perspective of life. So we need to retrain our minds to think supernaturally. Many Christians are so quick to take pills before they pray and it's not our fault in many cases. We've been raised this way! This is why we must take certain steps to re-training our brains to consider and eventually see the world from a supernatural perspective. We have to see the world the way Jesus sees it.

And Jesus sees things on earth as it is in heaven.

GET A LIFE

In conjunction with the proper mindset comes developing a real prayer life and spending time building intimacy with Papa. Like Jesus demonstrated in His own ministry, spending time in prayer every day is key to unleashing the supernatural power of God wherever you go. Remember, you were given authority over the whole earth, both in the natural and in the spirit world (Genesis 1:26 + Matthew 16:19). Therefore, whatever we give permission to function on earth, heaven will also give permission to function (and vice versa). Below are some key scriptures and prayers I personally pray in my prayer-closet time that gives God access to release His power for healing in the streets. NOTE: These are NOT written prayers for you to just recite, but principles to help you pray more effectively so that heaven can be unleashed according to the Word of God. So do this in your own words with our own personality attached to it.

1. Mark 16:15-20 + Matthew 28:19: Father, in Your word You told us to go and preach the gospel to all nations and that miracles will back up the message. Father, I am going out to spread the good news like you commanded. I ask that You would back up Your own message and heal every sick person in Jesus name.

2. Luke 19:10 + 2 Peter 3:9: Father, we are going out to reach the lost today. You said in Your word that the son of man came to save the lost and also that it's Your desire none perish but all come to repentance. Remember Your word today and fulfill Your own desires. Work wonders among the people today so they'll come to know Your son Jesus as Lord and savior.

3. Joel 2:28 + Matthew 10:8: Father, I ask that You would pour out Your Spirit at Wal-Mart today in great signs and wonders. You have freely given to me and told me to freely give in return. I am going to do as You have said, so come Holy Spirit and meet all the needs of the people today so they'll come to know the Lord Jesus for real and be set free from the power of the devil.

4. Praying in tongues. We've already talked about this in the chapter on the gifts of the Spirit. Praying in tongues is helpful because you can pray about specific people you are going to meet when you head out to the streets. I suggest praying an hour in tongues everyday, but especially before going out to the streets.

Again, these are not written prayers for you to recite. The principle I'm giving you concerns reminding God of His own word, which is His will and a way to an automatic yes (1 John 5:14). If it's in the Bible, He wants to do it. All God needs is the legal access to move on His will, so praying in this way gives God the access to do what He already wants do — heal people in the streets!

Developing an on earth as it in is heaven mindset and a continual prayer life are both power keys to releasing the healing power of the kingdom. Now, without further delay, let's jump into our three step model.

C H A P T E R   N I N E

Love the People

A S   I   S A I D  previously, the most important thing you can do when ministering to people in the streets is to love them well. It's what motivated Jesus to do what He did and likewise for us—He's our model to follow! So first thing's first: Put your love on. One thing I've noticed in my own journey is that it's hard to love others when we have yet to experience the love of God ourselves. In truth: The way we treat other people is often a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. However, in order for us to have an accurate and healthy love for our own selves, we must first receive love from God as we discussed in chapter two. A love that comes from a place of deep connection with Papa's heart.

COMPASSION VS. SYMPATHY

One thing I'd like to note is the difference between compassion and sympathy. In the world of healing ministry many times people come for prayer not to be healed but simply just to get prayed for. They have given up on ever being well (in some cases) and really just want sympathy and people to rub their backs, and reinforce their mindset of victimization. Jesus, however, never did this. And that's the difference between sympathy and compassion. Sympathy says, “Aww, I'm sorry, you poor, poor thing, can I carry this burden with you?” Whereas compassion says, “I'm really sorry that happened to you and I'm here to pull you out.” Jesus never gave sympathy but instead lived out of a place of compassion—-a place moved to bring solutions and not merely allow the works of the devil to continue to steal, kill, and destroy lives. Compassion seeks to bring change and like I've been saying all throughout this book, we're called to follow His lead. When healing the sick in the streets, we are called to walk in a place of compassion. After all, that's why we want to see them well! We want to be moved with concern for the person so much so that we seek to release God's kingdom for breakthrough. What we do not want to do, however, is carry the person's burdens for them (or even with them), but instead introduce them to the Person who will take their burdens from them forever. The One Whose yoke is easy and burden is light. Jesus Christ and His power to save, heal and deliver!

THE GOLDEN RULE

The main thing to remember, which I've stated before and will state again, is the importance of treating the people as people and not projects. When dealing with the sick in the street, remember we are not trying to get them healed to be cool or to simply have another story to share. It's because God loves them, paid for their healing on the cross, and wants to see them well and walking in relationship with Him. We do it for no other reason. The most important thing a person can walk away with after any encounter in the street is that they experienced the love of God through us. It's God's job to heal; it's our job to love. So just be a son in love; just be a daughter in love and you'll be walking in great wonders in no time! As Mike Bickle (International House of Prayer-Kansas City) says, “Lovers make better workers.” One of the best compliments I have ever personally received was when I was told that I reminded someone of Jesus. Now, I'm far from Jesus, but the compliment was such and honor and so touching to me. If we can love people like Jesus, everything else will fall into place. Being a Christian means being love.

Be love.

I think before we move on to our second step of the Street Healer's Guide three-step prayer model, we would do well to read 1 Corinthians 13, the mother of all love scriptures:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. —1 Corinthians 13

C H A P T E R   T E N

Release the Kingdom

T H E   S E C O N D  step in our street healing model, taken right from the life of Jesus, is to release the kingdom of God. A simple and practical concept. As we discussed in a previous chapter, here are a few ways we can partner with God to release His kingdom for healing:

1.) Word of command – When praying for the sick, words of command, like Jesus demonstrated, can be a very effective way to release the kingdom for breakthrough. Simply treat the disease as if it were a person and order it to leave the body at once. Then command the body to be well. Remember, God has given you authority over the dust of the earth, and the body was made from the dust. It must obey you! (See Luke 4:39 + Matthew 17:18)

2.) Laying on of hands/physical touch – Another way to release the kingdom is through laying on of hands. A combination of laying on of hands with a word of command can be very effective in releasing the kingdom. Again, these are not formulas, so stay in tune with Holy Spirit's leading as He may prompt you to lay hands on the person during prayer time. We'll discuss etiquette when laying hands on the sick in a later chapter. (See Matthew 8:3 + Luke 4:40 + Luke 8:43-44 + Mark 6:56)

3.) Prophetic acts – In your healing ventures Holy Spirit may prompt you to perform a prophetic act just like Jesus did sometimes to see the kingdom come and the person healed. (See John 9:6 + Mark 8:23)

4.) Sharing testimonies – As we stated in Revelation 19:10, the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. Another great way to release the kingdom of God into someone's situation is to share a testimony of a similar breakthrough you've seen happen in the past. Remember, one person's testimony is another's prophecy! It's God's will to do again what He did before and many times miracles are released just by sharing the testimony. How awesome is that! (See Revelation 19:10)

Each of the above are all valid ways to release the kingdom of God into a person's life to see breakthrough. The key here, though, is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit when doing so. As I stated in the beginning of this book, these principles aren't formulas, but ways God chooses to invade a situation by conjoining our authority and His power. The key, though, is this can look different every time and the more sensitive we are to His leading the more success we'll see in releasing the kingdom. It's a growing process, but if you'll be willing to take a little risk and cross the chicken line (getting out of your comfort zone), you will see heaven come more and more frequently! God is ready, are you?

One time, while I was ministering at the Bethel Healing Rooms in Redding, CA, a woman came in with scabs on her scalp. We began thanking God for His presence and using words of command to call her body back into alignment with God's truth. During this process, I saw a picture in my head of this woman wearing a crown of steel on her brow. I felt Holy Spirit say, “Remove the steel crown and replace it with a golden, bejeweled one.”

I explained to the woman what I saw in my mind's eye and asked  if we could do a prophetic act of removing one crown to replace it with the other. At length, she agreed and once the prophetic act was finished all of the scabs on her head disappeared right before our very eyes! It was that simple. God gave us a direction as to how He wanted to release the kingdom into her life, we followed, and the result was breakthrough. Thank You, Papa!

Now that we've talked about how we can release the kingdom into a person's life for healing, let's talk about street protocol and some ways to transition people into healing prayer that is safe and non-threatening.

STREET PROTOCOL: PRACTICAL DO'S AND DON'TS DURING PRAYER TIME

1. Ask if it's okay to place your hand on the person. Not everyone wants you touching them and if you're praying for a woman I advise you be extra careful about the laying on of hands. One thing I do is if I am praying for a woman, I'll have the woman lay her own hand on the injured body part and then I will place my hand upon her hand. If I am in a group with a girl in the group? I'll have the girl lay her hand on the woman instead. I also do this with someone who may have a problem in a private area. Why? Because above all we must respect a person's dignity. You don't always have to lay hands on a person anyway, Peter's shadow worked just find in the Bible (Acts 5). Also, in some cases you might be dealing with someone that practices New Age/witchcraft methods of healing such as reiki or energy crystals, or energy transfer. In this case, we want to show the person it's God healing them and not a New Age methodology. However, most of the time you'll be dealing with normal people and we have to respect their dignity. Always ask before you do anything in the street!

2. Keep the prayer short. I never go long on street prayers. We're not in a church service and we want to respect the person once again. Keep the prayers short and sweet. We don't need to show off our theology. Just prayed short prayers when He ministered to the sick. “Be healed!” was usually enough to get the job done.

3. Save the Christianeze for later. Remember we are dealing with people in the street and most of them are not accustomed to our insider's jargon. Keep things down to earth and save the Christianeze for Sunday morning. If you get a prophetic word for the person, you don't have to say to them, “thus saith the Lord.” Instead, you might want to say something like, “You know, this may sound strange to you, but I was just wondering if you have this situation going on in your life...” or “I could be wrong, but I feel like this is going on in your life...is that relevant to you?” These are all simple ways you can bring an un-churched person into the supernatural reality of God without getting goofy about it. One way I deliver words of knowledge to people is in similar fashion. Me: “Excuse me, sir, this may sound kinda weird, but do you by any chance have back pain from middle of your neck going down to your right shoulder?” If they say no? I simply say, “Oops, my bad. Guess it was just me!” No harm done, see? Just stay practical and polite, and you'll be amazed how people will respond.

Always remember, above all else, to be polite, respectful of the other person's space and boundaries, and show them the love of Jesus. It's why we do what we do. Even if you pray for a million people and never see a healing, remember the most important thing is that they feel loved when you go your separate ways.

So what happens after we've been loving on the person and released the kingdom into their situation for breakthrough? It's time for our third step: Testing the results.

C H A P T E R   E L E V E N

Test the Results

T H E   T H I R D  step in our street model is to test the results of the prayer. Now there needs to be a great deal of care taken when doing this. Don't just dump someone out of a wheelchair after you've prayed for them. What I do after prayer is a couple of things:

1. Ask the person if they felt anything during prayer. Extreme peace, tingling/prickling, heat, icy-hot-like sensations, and electricity are all common indicators the Holy Spirit is ministering healing to their bodies. Of course there are times when people feel nothing and get healed anyway, but I always like to ask. Why? Because if they are feeling something it can encourage their faith. Plus people also appreciate being informed.

2. Ask the person if they feel any change in their bodies. Do they feel better? Worse? Is the pain still there? Was it there before we prayed? Has the pain gone down? Have them rate their recovery on a scale of 0-100%. Here's how I do that. I say, “How much better do you feel right now? 0% being no change at all; 100% being totally healed, where would you say you are?”

3. Ask them to move the injured (or now healed) limb to see how it feels. This is where you must be extremely careful. Only ask a person to do what they are comfortable doing. If they are on crutches, but uncomfortable walking without the crutches due to fear, don't force them. Never push someone beyond what they are willing to do! So always present this in question form, “Would you be okay trying to move your arm for me?” One time I prayed for a girl with a hip injury; she was on crutches and in pain, and after prayer the pain was 100% gone. However, she did not feel comfortable walking on it until she went back to doctors for medical confirmation. Respect the person above all else! If the person is comfortable testing the injury, many times you'll find they've had significant manifestation of healing. Yay, God!

4. Ask if it's okay to pray again if they’re not fully healed. Just like Jesus had to pray twice, many times we do too. After testing the results, sometimes you'll notice the person isn't fully healed, but the healing process has begun. One time, I prayed for a man that had had a stroke (I believe I mentioned him in CH1) and was wracked with pain all over his body. The first time we prayed for him 97% of the pain left. We prayed again and all the pain was gone completely! In cases like this, simply say, “Would it be okay if we prayed one more time? Jesus had to pray twice too.” Always remember to ask; never demand or force. I usually only pray twice for a person unless the Holy Spirit says to try for more. I don't like to badger or hold people up. Again, good manners go a long way!

5. Explain the healing process. Sometimes you'll pray and nothing happens or a partial healing occurs. In this case, I always like to explain to people that healings are many times progressive as it has to do with recovery. I then give them a testimony of a time I prayed for someone and they were healed over the next couple of hours. Always impart faith and hope when you talk to someone. If anything, they should always walk away feeling loved regardless of whether or not a miracle occurs. It's our job to love; it's God's job to heal.

6. Give all credit to God. If a healing happens, always remind the person Jesus is the one that did it. It's not you, myself, or Benny Hinn's power that healed them — it's by the Spirit of God!

7. Follow the Holy Spirit wherever He leads next. Sometimes God will heal a person and they'll open up to more about their life-situation, which can result in more prayer and deliverance. In some cases that person might be ripe for evangelism and will want to give their lives to Jesus. Please note, however, street healing has evangelistic aspects to it, but I personally go around praying for people no-strings-attached. I let the Holy Spirit orchestrate the rest. Just a simple act of love can change someone's whole life! So I don't go out with a goal to convert people; I go to meet needs and let God touch them through me. Yet still, in some situations, God may use you to lead that person to salvation. If that happens, have them say, “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart you are the Messiah. You died on the cross for my sins, rose again three days later, and are now seated at the right hand of the Father. I invite you to come into my heart. Thank you for what you did for me. Amen.”

8. If the person gets saved: This is a sub-topic to the one above. Don't leave people hanging without a clue! If a person gives their life to Christ, make sure you help them get plugged into a local church for discipleship. Simply ask them where they are from and you can go from there. Knowing a list of good churches and programs in the area is helpful. You might also want to invite them to your church and exchange e-mails with them to keep in touch. Just be safe and smart about it. You don't have to become their mentor or anything, but don't leave them hanging after becoming a Christian without direction either.

SHG 3-STEP REVIEW

So let's go over our three step guide to street healing. We said:

1. Love the people. The most important thing you can do when encountering people in the street is to love them. Remember, it's God job to heal; your job is only the love. No matter what happens, whether they jump up out of a wheelchair or roll away seemingly the same, every person you engage with ought to leave feeling the love of Papa God. These are people; not projects. No exceptions.

2. Release the kingdom. When it comes time to pray for the person, keep the prayer short and sweet. Listen to Holy Spirit for how He wants to release the kingdom of God into that person's body. There's no formula so just stay loose and don't be afraid to take a little risk when acting on what you perceive to be God's leading.

3. Test the results. Once you've released the kingdom, test out the results. Ask if you can pray again if there doesn't seem to be any change. If there is change, no matter how great or small, celebrate as if the person just received a total-body makeover. God delights in celebration and in the kingdom, what you are thankful for you get more of!

Now that we got that down, let's talk about some practical ways to approach people in the street, as well as some pitfalls to avoid.

C H A P T E R   T W E L V E

How to Approach

N O W  that you know some practical ways to go and pray for people in the street, let's talk approach. You know, approach can make or break an encounter just by the way you walk up to someone. Coming off as spooky, kooky, or creepy can mean instant rejection and a failure for someone to receive what God has for them. True, rejection will happen as not everyone will want prayer, but unnecessary rejection is more what I'm talking about. If you talk to a bunch of different street healers you'll probably get all different kinds of answers based on personality or style. Some will even give you a cop-out answer like, “I do whatever the Holy Ghost tells me.” Yet the truth remains everyone has their own style and personality, and certain methods come off more natural than others. My approach is more cordial and polite. Why? Because I'm not the smoothest talker on planet earth. Whenever I've tried to schmooze people into prayer it's always come off as awkward and phony. People want honesty and I feel like I just can't come across as having no motive when I try to just strike up casual conversation with a person then manipulate the discussion to healing prayer. Not slamming anyone's style, of course. I've just found being polite, open, and getting to the point has worked best for me. The more natural you can convey your heart's intent the less likely you'll come off as being manipulative and shady. Just be respectful and above all— be yourself!

CRASH-COURSE ON APPROACH

The first thing I do when I see someone in need of prayer, whether because they have a visible sign such as limp, or by revelation of the Holy Spirit, I go over to them as soon as possible. I've found that in times when I don't act right away I tend to get nervous and chicken out. That or I tend to try and plan out the approach in my mind and end up looking like a creeper by going into stalker mode. Not good! Thus, in my experience, I've found that going over to the person right away helps eliminate the “creepo factor” as well as any negative self-talk/fear-talk from the devil. Obviously, not every situation allots for this, such as if a person is paying the cashier or talking on the phone. In that case, just act casual and relax and try not to pay them too much mind until they are done. Then you can go over to them. Just don't stare or hover, or circle the vicinity as it makes you look stalker status. Again, just be natural about it and when they are available just go over to them. Oh, and don't forget to smile! Remember, these are people; not targets. Treat them as such!

The second thing I do when approaching a person for prayer is making sure I am very polite, cordial and respectful when I get their attention. “Excuse, sir/ma'am,” is usually what I say. When they turn to look at me I make sure I give them plenty of personal space. That may sounds dumb and obvious to you, but the little things really count! Next, after I have their attention, I make sure to introduce myself. You don't have to give them your social security number and blood type when you do this. Your first name will suffice, followed by explaining what you're all about up front. Here's an example of how I do it:

ME: Excuse me, sir?

MAN: Yes?

ME: Hi, my name is Luke. I don't mean to bother you, but I just noticed you have a cane.

MAN: Yeah, my knees are shot.

ME: Well, this may sound kind of weird, but I'm a follower of Jesus Christ and was wondering if I can pray for your healing. I've seen God do miracles before and it's amazing! Would that be okay if I prayed for you really quick? I'm not here to make you go to church or “get religious” or anything.

If the man says, “OK, I'd love prayer,” then I begin the three step process.

If the person says “no thanks,” then I simply thank them for hearing me out and leave. It's not a big deal and if you come from an area like where I live (New England) then it's not normal for people to just go up to other people seeking  prayer  in public (yet). So if that's your situation then don't be discouraged if you get lots of turn-downs. Forerunners always receive the most resistance! Here's a quick list of things TO-DO when approaching people for healing.

TO-DO'S WHEN APPROACHING PEOPLE FOR PRAYER

1. Be yourself and act natural.

2. Introduce yourself to the person.

3. Let people know what you're all about up front. “I'm a follower of Jesus Christ and I noticed your cane. Would it be okay if we prayed for your healing right now? I believe God answers prayers.”

4. Keep it no-strings-attached. You're there to love, bless, and pray for them; not force them to come to church or make a decision on their destiny. Unless the Holy Spirit releases the Fear of the Lord and they are ripe for evangelism, keep it no strings attached.

5. When it doubt: love, love, love!

THINGS NOT TO DO WHEN APPROACHING PEOPLE FOR PRAYER

1. Stalk them. Spy on the them. Hovering in all forms.

2. Crowd personal space.

3. Be forceful and pushy.

4. Manipulate the conversation as to come off as having and ulterior motive.

5. Make them feel bad about themselves because of sin.

6. Condemn them to hell.

7. Throw a gazillion scriptures at them to show them they are going to hell.

8. Talk in Christianese.

These are just a few tips based on my own experiences in the street. People really do appreciate the sentiment and most of the time react favorably. I've heard many times, “Wow, it's so nice to see young people like you doing this.”

Just remember it's all about love.

REJECTION MANAGEMENT

If you come from an area like me and are the first to really begin stepping out to pray for the sick, you're going to experience a lot of rejection. Sometimes you might even receive outright hostility! One time myself and a friend approached a homeless man that almost attacked us. We ended up having to leave the scene before it got dangerous. Another time I was cussed out right to my face! While that might seem amusing now, it wasn't in the moment. If you're also like me, you might even find yourself feeling compelled to slap some people around too. Well, knowing how to manage rejection is important because you don't want to get yourself in trouble, and you also don't want to damage your witness of Christ in the eyes of the other person. I've seen other Christians do this many times, they get rejected for prayer and immediately respond by throwing a “Jesus loves you we'll be praying for you,” response, which is clearly out of spite and not love. Things like this we can't do. It only angers the person and comes off as rude. The important thing is to always stay two things: 1.) innocent in the eyes of the Lord and man 2.) safe. You don't want to do something that will start a fight resulting in someone getting hurt. This is especially true in certain environments such as the mall or a public place with security. You don't want to get yourself kicked out of the venue otherwise you're no good to anyone! So just stay cool if someone starts getting hostile, thank them for their time, and walk away. Remember, Jesus, our master, was rejected first.

No servant is above their master.

CHICKENING OUT

Before we move on to the last chapter, I would like to take a few moments to address chickening out. All I'll say is it happens to the best of us. Yes, that includes me! We've all chickened out on going up to someone to ask them for prayer before. Don't feel bad; don't feel like a failure; don't feel like you'll never be able to be used by God to heal the sick. I've chickened out countless times and so have many others I know. Just ask God to forgive you and move on. It's all about love. There's no condemnation in street healing. It can be scary doing this kind of thing, especially when you're just starting out. Don't worry about it! Just try again the next time. Ask God to fill you with His love for people, so that you might feel what He feels and see people the way He sees them. This is the spawning ground for supernatural compassion and boldness to do the stuff Jesus did. I promise you, God will never kill you for chickening out. In fact, He's excited you're interested in stepping out in the first place!

C H A P T E R   T H I R T E E N

Increasing the Power

O N E   F I N A L  thing I'd like to share in this book concerns growing the power of God in your life. Did you know God's power (the gifts of the Spirit) can be developed and cultivated to be even stronger in your life than it already is? Yes, it's possible! This chapter is a short list of things I do to grow the anointing (dunamis) on my life. I know they'll work for you too if you'll just commit yourself to doing it!

10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO GROW THE HEALING ANOINTING

1. Re-reading the gospels. This seems obvious, but it's another one of those things that would surprise you. If you want to do the stuff Jesus did in the street, then you need to read the gospels every day. Feed on them more than any other book in the Bible. That's what I do. Each week I try to read through all four gospels. Read Mark and Luke if any other, because they spend a great deal of time dealing with Jesus' healing ministry. Meditate on the gospels. They are the most important books in the Bible!

2. Get a prayer life. This also seems obvious, but have a real prayer life. Petition God to move in power and pour out revival in your region. Spending time in prayer, reminding God of His promises to heal people, will grow the power to heal in your own life. Why? Because you're giving heaven legal permission to invade earth through you!

3. Prayer in tongues. Like we talked about earlier, praying in tongues builds up your spirit-man, allowing you to be more sensitive to the voice of God. It also builds up your spirit muscles in power too. Try to spend one hour a day praying in tongues and watch what happens to your life!

4. Soaking. Briefly mentioned earlier, soaking is resting in the manifest presence of God like one does in a sauna. Here's how to soak: Put on worship music and begin to worship God; sing to Him and invite Him to come into your room; say, “Holy Spirit, come. I invite you into my room right now,” and continue to worship God and thank Him for everything He's done in your life until you begin to feel a supernatural peace and presence in the room. Once you sense His presence, just lay down on the floor or get into a comfy chair and relax. Simply lay there and rest. You may experience tingling, prickling, heat, or electricity as the Holy Spirit hovers over your body. You may even experience dreams and visions like I do. Just rest and think about God. You don't even have to talk. Soaking is just being with God.

5. Impartation. Another one we also talked about earlier. A short-cut to increasing the healing power of God on your life is to go get impartations from people who are moving in great power for healing. Go to wherever they are hosting impartation services and get an impartation.

6. Fire tunnels. Fire tunnels are a type of impartation exercise that can fill you with the Holy Spirit as well as increase the power of God on your life. If you don't know what a fire tunnel is I suggest you YouTube it for an exact picture of what this is: Two parallel columns of fiery believers laying hands on a train of people walking through the middle — just like the game London Bridge!

7. Testimonies. Once again, testimonies also have the ability to impart and increase power on your life. One thing I do is have a YouTube playlist of various testimonies from revivals, healing room stories, miracle crusades, as well as interviews with ministers moving in great power. All of these testimonies release the power of God to duplicate the same miracles in and through my life! See Revelation 19:10.

8. Reading books on healing and revival. Another form of the testimony in action. Keep yourself read up on the latest books and articles. There are often prayers of impartation in these books too, which are anointed and really work. Remember, any written or spoken account of something God has done is a testimony! And if it's a real testimony, it has real power.

9. Sowing into ministries that move in power. One of the basic kingdom principles in the Bible is the principle of Seed Time and Harvest (see Mark 4). One thing you can do to increase the power on your life for miracles is to give offerings into ministries that move in great power. I do this all the time and have seen great increase of power on my life. Why? Because what you sow you will reap (2 Corinthians 9:6 + Luke 6:38).

10. Praying for people that need healing in the street. Can't explain this any better. The power of God is like a muscle. In order to keep it strong and build it up you have to exercise it. Going out and praying for people builds the muscles up and makes it strong. Just do it!

I SEE SICK PEOPLE...EVERYWHERE!

The last thing I want to discuss in this book is what happens once you get started. Many times, after you begin praying for the sick, you'll start to notice sick people everywhere. You might even feel like now, since you've stepped out, you are hereby obligated to pray for every, single one of them you come across too. Don't fall into this trap! You do not have to pray for every sick person you see. One of the strategies of the devil to make you feel bad when you don't pray for someone. Tell the devil to shut up! You don't have to pray for everyone on planet earth. However, do keep an ear open to the Holy Spirit. Sometimes He might want you to go over and pray for someone; other times, you can relax. I heard a story once of a girl that was afraid to leave her house because now she'd have to pray for everyone she sees. True, we are held more accountable now that we know more, but don't fall into the mindset of seeing sick people everywhere. Always remember to keep an ear open to the Holy Spirit and don't worry about missing things so much. If you can do this, you'll find that the street healer's lifestyle is a wonderful adventure to be experienced, where lives are impacted as heaven comes to touch earth through yours.

R E C O M M E N D E D

Reads

When Heaven Invades Earth – Bill Johnson

Rediscovering the Kingdom – Myles Munroe

Experiencing Father's Embrace – Jack Frost

Power Evangelism – John Wimber, Kevin Springer

Culture of Honor – Danny Silk

Essential Guide to Healing- Bill Johnson, Randy Clark

Spirit Wars – Kris Vallotton

Listen to Me, Satan! - Carlos Anacondia

There is More – Randy Clark

Good Morning, Holy Spirit – Benny Hinn

Copyright 2013 Luke T. Jones. All rights reserved.

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