The Bible and Life

Friday, August 14, 2026

Power From High

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

POWER FROM HIGH - Charles Finney

I could fill a volume with the history of my own experience and observation with respect to this power from on high. It is a fact of consciousness and of observation, but a great mystery. I have said that sometimes a look has in it the power of God. I have often witnessed this. Let the following fact illustrate it.

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I once preached, for the first time, in a manufacturing village. The next morning I went into a manufacturing establishment to view its operations. As I passed into the weaving department I beheld a great company of young women, some of whom, I observed, were looking at me, and then at each other, in a manner that indicated a trifling spirit, and that they knew me.

I, however, knew none of them. As I approached nearer to those who had recognized me they seemed to increase in their manifestations of lightness of mind. Their levity made a peculiar impression upon me; I felt it to my very heart. I stopped short and looked at them, I know not how, as my whole mind was absorbed with the sense of their guilt and danger.

As I settled my countenance upon them I observed that one of them became very much agitated. A thread broke. She attempted to mend it; but her hands trembled in such a manner that she could not do it. I immediately observed that the sensation was spreading, and had become universal among that class of triflers.

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I looked steadily at them until one after another gave up and paid no more attention to their looms. They fell on their knees, and the influence spread throughout the whole room. I had not spoken a word; and the noise of the looms would have prevented my being heard if I had. In a few minutes all work was abandoned, and tears and lamentations filled the room.

At this moment the owner of the factory, who was himself an unconverted man, came in, accompanied, I believe, by the superintendent, who was a professed Christian. When the owner saw the state of things he said to the superintendent, "Stop the mill." What he saw seemed to pierce him to the heart.

"It is more important," he hurriedly remarked, "that these souls should be saved than that this mill should run." As soon as the noise of the machinery had ceased, the owner inquired: "What shall we do? We must have a place to meet, where we can receive instruction." The superintendent replied: "The mule room will do." The mules were run up out of the way, and all of the hands were notified and assembled in that room.

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We had a marvelous meeting. I prayed with them, and gave them such instructions as at the time they could bear. The word was with power. Many expressed hope that day; and within a few days, as I was informed, nearly every hand in that great establishment, together with the owner, had hope in Christ.

This power is a great marvel. I have many times seen people unable to endure the word. The most simple and ordinary statements would cut men off from their seats like a sword, would take away their bodily strength, and render them almost as helpless as dead men. Several times it has been true in my experience that I could not raise my voice, or say anything in prayer or exhortation except in the mildest manner, without wholly overcoming those that were present. This was not because I was preaching terror to the people; but the sweetest sounds of the gospel would overcome them.

Power From On High

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Apostolic Church History Podcast

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

Transfer The Fire

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

TRANSFER OF FIRE

The Gospel is nothing less than the voice of God. When that Gospel is preached by a Holy Spirit-filled person or in a Flame Church, people will hear. The Gospel becomes a transfer of fire from God. Without the Gospel and without fire, however clever or magnificent the setting, it leaves hearers cold and dead. Pomp is not power. The Spirit makes the Word alive (John 6:63).

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THIS IS NO OLYMPIC TORCH. THIS IS THE BURNING TORCH OF the fire of the Holy Spirit passed from eternity to time and from generation to generation. The fire Moses saw now rested on the disciples; from the burning bush (Exodus 3:1, 2), it ignited the altar of Solomon (2 Chronicles 7:1) and landed at Pentecost on the disciples’ heads (Acts 2:3).

The fire of God Himself, in tongues of flames now leaping on each head, not appearing as a mere spectacle or manifestation but an experience—God and man together. He is the God of fire and burning. We live in a spiritually dark and cold world. The best way to keep from freezing is to be aglow with the Holy Spirit. God will light a fire on the altar of your own heart so that you can be a firelighter.

THE HOLY SPIRIT - Are We Flammable or Fire Proof.

By Reinhard Bonnke

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Friday, August 7, 2026

The Police Sent To Arrest Me

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

TWO POLICE MEN WERE SENT TO ARREST ME FOR PRACTICING HEALING WITHOUT LICENSE.

- Smith Wigglesworth

When I was in Switzerland the Lord was graciously working and healing many of the people. I was staying with Brother Reuss of Goldiwil and two policemen were sent to arrest me. The charge was that I was healing the people without a license.

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Mr. Reuss said to them, "I am sorry that he is not here just now. He is holding a meeting about two miles away, but before you arrest him let me show you something."

Brother Reuss took these two policemen down to one of the lower parts of that district, to a house with which they were familiar, for they had often gone to that place to arrest a certain woman, who was repeatedly put in prison because of continually being engaged in drunken brawls. He took them to this woman and said to them, "This is one of the many cases of blessing that have come through the ministry of the man you have come to arrest."

This woman came to our meeting in a drunken condition. Her body was broken, for she was ruptured in two places. While she was drunk, the evangelist laid his hands on her and asked God to heal her and deliver her." The woman joined in, "Yes, and God saved me, and I have not tasted a drop of liquor since."

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The policemen had a warrant for my arrest, but they said with disgust, "Let the doctors do this kind of thing." They turned and went away and that was the last we heard of them.

We have a Jesus that heals the brokenhearted, who lets the captives go free, who saves the very worst. Dare you, dare you, spurn this glorious Gospel of God for spirit, soul and body? Dare you spurn this grace? I realize that this full Gospel has in great measure been hid, this Gospel that brings liberty, this Gospel that brings souls out of bondage, this Gospel that brings perfect health to the body, this Gospel of entire salvation. Listen again to this word of Him who left the glory to bring us this great salvation, "Verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, . . . he shall have whatsoever he saith." Whatsoever!

BOOK QUOTE: Ever Increasing Faith.

William James Roop

Apostolic Church History Podcast

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Learn To Depend On Him For Your Healing

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

DEPEND ON YOUR SPIRIT.

"For verily I say unto you,

That whosoever shall say unto this mountain,

Be thou removed,

and be thou cast into the sea;

and shall not doubt in his heart,

but shall believe that those

things which he saith shall come to pass;

he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Therefore I say unto you,

What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,

believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

—Mark 11:23,24

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Your spirit knows things that your head does not know, because the Holy Spirit is in your spirit.

When medical science gave me up to die as a teenager and said they could do nothing further for me, I knew somehow that if there was help for me anywhere it would be in the Bible.

I started with the New Testament because I knew I didn't have much time. Eventually I came to Mark 11:23 and 24. When I came to Mark 11:24, something from outside me somewhere said to my mind, That doesn't mean what things soever ye desire physically, or materially, or financially. That just means whatsoever things ye desire spiritually. Healing has been done away with.

I tried to get my pastor to come and tell me what Mark 11:24 did mean. He did not come. One preacher finally did come. He patted my hand, put on a professional voice and said, "Just be patient my boy. In a few more days it will all be over."

I accepted the verdict and lay there expecting to die. It was two months before I got back into the Bible and back to Mark 11:23 and 24.

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I said, "Lord, I tried to get someone to help me and I couldn't. So I am going to tell You what I am going to do. I am just going to take You at Your Word. When You were here on earth, You said it. I am going to believe it. If You didn't lie about it, I am coming off this bed, because I can believe what You said I can believe."

Then I hit on this idea. (It took me a long time because I had limited use of my hands. They propped the Bible in front of me and I just sort of "scooted" the pages.) I decided to run my reference on faith and healing. I came to James 5:14 and 15.

JAMES 5:14,15

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

I thought all the rest of the healing scriptures and prayer promises hinged on that—I thought you HAD to call for the elders of the church. (You don't have to—you just can if you need to.) So I began to cry, "Dear Lord, if I have to call for the elders of the church to anoint me with oil to be healed, then I can't be healed. I don't know any elders of the church that believe in that."

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I had been saved about six months, and I had never heard an inward voice. I am not talking about the voice of the Spirit of God—that is more authoritative—I am talking about that still small voice of my spirit. My spirit said to me, "Did you notice that verse said that the prayer of faith shall save the sick?"

I had to look again. I'd had my mind on the elders and had missed that.

"Yes," I said aloud, "that is what it says!"

It came as a real shock to me. Then on the inside of me these words were spoken,

"You can pray that prayer as well as anyone can."

Hallelujah!

But my spiritual education was slow—just like yours. I stayed in that bed nine more months before I finally saw that I had to believe I received my healing before it would be manifested.

It was while I was praying and saying,

"I believe that I receive my healing,"

that I saw what I must do. I said,

"I believe that I receive healing from the top of my head to the soles of my feet."

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Then I began to praise God because I believed that I received my healing. Again, on the inside of me, I heard these words—this was not that authoritative voice, but just a still small voice, so faint I would not have heard it if my mind and body had been very active—

"Now you believe that you are well."

I said, "I sure do."

That inward voice said,

"Get up then. Well people ought to be up at 10:30 in the morning."

I had been paralyzed. It was a struggle. I pushed myself. Finally, I got up to where I was draped over the bedpost. My knees sagged down not far from the floor. I had no feeling from my waist down. But draped over that bedpost I said it again,

"I want to announce in the Presence of Almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the holy angels present in this room, and I want to call the devil to record and all evil spirits that may be present in this room, that according to Mark 11:24, I believe that I receive my healing."

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When I said that, physically, I felt something. It felt like someone above me was pouring a pitcher of honey on me. I felt it strike me on the top of my head. It seemed to pile up like honey would, and then it began to ooze down over me. It had a warm glow to it. It spread down over my head, down my neck and shoulders, down my arms and out the ends of my fingers, and down my body and out the ends of my toes.

All of a sudden I was standing straight! I have been straight ever since.

But I want you to see this. I listened to my spirit. Faith is of the spirit. Your faith will not work to its fullest until you learn some of these things. Learn to depend on Him the One who is in you. Learn to develop your own spirit.

Have faith in the fact that your faith in God works.

- Kenneth E Hagin ( How You Can Be Led By The Spirit Of God )

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Friday, July 31, 2026

R. A. Torrey

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

R.A. Torrey (1856-1928) was one of the foremost evangelists of his day. He was a great man of prayer who went around the world proclaiming the message of the gospel and helping men receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Even the great Evangelist D.L. Moody after hearing Torrey preach said, “you make my mouth water for Him.”

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The topic that R.A. Torrey struggled with for years was that of Divine Healing. This was due to the ministry of John Alexander Dowie. Dowie was a great pioneer of the healing message, yet was brash, aggressive, and would openly thrash and humiliate anyone who disagreed with his doctrine. After seeing the open feuds between Dowie and Moody, Torrey decided to stay away from the topic of divine healing all together. Yet, something continued to draw him to it over the years. He began to see people healed in his own meetings and at the time Aimee Semple McPherson brought another great wave of healing to the nation.

Towards the end of his life, he felt the need to respond to what he was seeing and published a little book called “Divine Healing.” Within the writings he said, “Does God heal in answer to prayer today? Does He really heal people who are beyond the skill of the physician and beyond all human help? Does he work miracles today?

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To all these questions I reply, He does. Not only does the Bible teach it, but experience demonstrates it." Would Torrey have seen things in a different light if he had not encountered Dowie? Only God knows the answer to that question. Torrey died on October 26, 1928. His remarkable evangelistic campaigns remain, like those of his friend Moody, a hallmark of effective and memorable Christian movements.

Regardless of the actions of other ministers that were hurtful, Torrey decided to go with what God’s word had to say on the matter, and he left a legacy of faith proclaiming that God saves, God fills with the Holy Ghost, and God heals! Let’s all do the same!

KINGDOM GENERALS

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Apostolic Church History Podcast

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

How To Judge Spirituality

Hello everyone. Praise the Lord!

How To Judge Spirituality.

“One Sunday morning during the summer of 1943, I was preaching at a church in north-central Texas. My text was Colossians 2:9,10, where it says "ye are complete in him," and my title was “What Is Spirituality?" I have never been brave enough to use that text again.

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I asked the question: Where would you go to look for a spiritual person?

Some thought of people in our church who were quick to jump, quick to dance, quick to shout, and they said, "They're spiritual."

I told the congregation, "That's not spirituality. You can't judge spirituality by that.”

“Somebody else said, "So-and-So is always talking in tongues and is always giving messages in tongues, so he's really spiritual."

I said, "No, no. You can't judge spirituality by that, because God will use any kind of vessel He can. I read where He talked through a donkey one time. That doesn't mean that donkey was spiritual.

"No," I said. "I know that spiritual people do go to church, but I wouldn't even go to church if I were looking for a spiritual person. You know the first place I'd go?"

They all said, "No."

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I said, "I'd go to a person's home."

You see, when it comes to religious things, people are two faced. They've got one face they wear on Sunday, and another face they wear another day. I've seen them as a pastor. I've knocked on their doors and heard them whisper, "Put that UP! Put that UP! Put that UP!" There was something they didn't want me to see. And you never heard such scurrying around. I thought they never were going to open the door.

"No," I told that congregation, "I'd just like to become the invisible man; walk through the door, and look and listen." And I said, "People who are spiritual—people who have really got something—live right at home. And if you don't live right at home, you haven't got anything!”

-Kenneth E. Hagin

- Spiritual Notes

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