I intended to continue with more incidences of God’s power in Acts 5, but I have a “word of knowledge” story that’s too good not to share. Yesterday, I referred to Peter’s response to Ananias and Sapphira as a word of knowledge:

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5.3, ESV)

There are those today who believe that all such manifestations of God’s power in the book of Acts have ceased. (They’re called “cessationists.”) Here’s a story of such a fellow from J.P. Moreland’s book A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles. Remember, Dr. Moreland is a respected professor of philosophy at Talbot Seminary. Dr. Moreland was at the front of the church available to pray for people after a service. He saw a young man approaching, and here’s the story from there.

Along the way, a clear thought had come into my mind from the outside: Tell him not to leave his current ministry. That was it. So after receiving permission to pray and lay hands on the young man, I said, “I have a sense that the Lord may be giving me a word for you—namely, you are not to leave your current ministry.” His jaw practically hit the floor. He responded, “Dr. Moreland, I graduated from Dallas Seminary, and I don’t believe in signs and wonders, including God’s ability to speak outside the Bible. But I heard you were preaching at this Vineyard church, so I came to hear you. Here’s the crazy thing—I’m a leader of a local parachurch ministry, and I’ve been struggling the last few weeks about whether or not I should leave and look for a new ministry.” (Page 152, emphasis mine)

Back to my blog about the falling iguanas weather forecast, just because I don’t know about something or don’t believe in something doesn’t make it not real. God is at work, I’m making it a goal not to miss what he’s doing or what he wants to do.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

• for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit,
• to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
• to another faith by the same Spirit,
• to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
• to another the working of miracles,
• to another prophecy,
• to another discerning of spirits,
• to another different kinds of tongues,
• to another the interpretation of tongues.

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12.4 – 11, NKJV, bulleted for clarity)