(When quoting scriptures, from the Rotherham Emphasized Bible New Testament, I will substitute the Hebrew words
Yahoshua (yeh-ho-shoo'- ah) for Jesus, Yahweh and Elohim for God and the LORD and ruah for pneuma (spirit).)
"Now, ye, are the body of Christ, and members severally; And Yahweh hath, indeed, set, certain, in the assembly,—first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that mighty works [dunamis], then gifts of healings, helps, guidings, kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all mighty works" (1 Cor. 12:27-29)? In the Old Testament, Moses, Elijah and Elisha were men who manifested dunamis (powers). In the New Testament, we have the Apostles, Stephen and Phillip manifesting dunamis. All believers have the ability to manifest power (Mk. 11:22-24), as all believers have the ability to speak in tongues and prophesy but Yahweh has indeed gifted certain individuals, as members of the Body of the Christ with mighty works and gifts of healing, of which would be John Alexander Dowie, Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake and Oral Roberts.
From their own Mouths
John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907)
"With joyous songs and grateful hearts, the people of God in ancient days obeyed His command, "Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits,. . . the FIRST-FRUITS of thy labors which thou hast sown in the field." (Exodus 21 : 29 ; 23 : 16. ) We, therefore, giving all the praise to our God and Father, who has, by the Holy Spirit, so gloriously blessed our first eight months work for His dear Son in this land, send forth these "First-Fruits" of our labors in America in the cause of Christ our Lord, especially in the ministry of Divine Healing. We do this on the eve of going forth again for a second and longer period of service to our Lord on this Pacific Coast. We begin, on Lord's Day, April 28th, a mission in the city of Los Angeles, Southern California, and, God willing, we shall visit other cities in that portion of this State, and proceed from thence to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, where we intend to conduct missions until the Fall, in which labors we ask the prayers and sympathies of all our Christian readers. The following pages are, for the most part, simply extracts from our shorthand writer's reports of the words of testimony uttered by those who have been healed through faith in Jesus, as given by themselves before a multitude of witnesses in the Praise and Testimony Meetings which have been held at the close of each of our missions, ten of which have been conducted by us in this State. Concerning the genuineness of these statements there can be no righteous dispute, but we deeply regret (although we cannot be surprised) that we have been under the necessity of defending the truthfulness of these witnesses against the false and malicious attacks, not of the world, but of some who profess to be ministers within the Church of God. "No strange thing has happened to us" in our being compelled to discharge this painful duty, but it is none the less to be regretted, although we trust such conduct will never be repeated. One good result is that it has given us an opportunity, and laid upon us the necessity, of again and again bringing forward these witnesses, who, before hundreds and even thousands of persons, have reaffirmed their testimony without challenge. In this matter, remembering the words of the great apostle, we say to our Christian friends, "Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable [margin, Gr. "absurd "] and wicked men, for all men have not faith. " 2 Thessalonians 3:2. In only two, or possibly three, cases do we know of any of the witnesses whose testimonies arc herein reported having gone back to former conditions, and the cause of their declension in every case is to be found in a return to sin, largely through evil and ungodly surroundings which the persons concerned have yielded to instead of overcoming through the grace of God In this connection, we desire to remind all who read, that what is received through faith in Jesus may be lost through unbelief and other sins. Our Lord's warning in John 5:14 sufficiently proves this assertion. He said to one whom he had healed, "Behold, thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee..."" (American First-Fruits... 1889, Introduction)
Smith Wigglesworth (1850-1947)
God-Given Faith
"Read Hebrews 11:1-11. I believe that there is only one way to all the treasures of God, and that is the way of faith. By faith and faith alone do we get into a knowledge of the attributes and become partakers of the beatitudes, and participate in the glories of our ascended Lord. All His promises are Yea and Amen to them that believe.
God would have us come to Him by His own way. That is through the open door of grace. A way has been made. It is a beautiful way, and all His saints can enter in by this way and find rest. God has prescribed that the just shall live by faith. I find that all is failure that has not its base on the rock Christ Jesus. He is the only way, the truth and the life. The way of faith is the Christ way, receiving Him in His fullness and walking in Him; receiving His quickening life that fills, moves and changes us, bringing us to a place where there is always an Amen in our hearts to all the will of God. As I look into Acts 12, I find that the people were praying all night for Peter to come out of prison. They had a zeal but seem to have been lacking in faith. They were to be commended for their zeal in spending their time in prayer without ceasing, but their faith, evidently, did not measure up to such a marvelous answer. Rhoda had more faith than the rest of them. When the knock came to the door, she ran to it, and the moment she heard Peter's voice, she ran back again with joy saying that Peter stood before the gate. And all the people said, "You are mad. It isn't so." But she constantly affirmed that it was so.
Zacharias and Elisabeth wanted a son, but even when the angel came and told Zacharias that he would have a son, he was full of unbelief. And the angel said, "You will be dumb, because you do not believe my words." But look at Mary. When the angel came to her, Mary said, "Be it to me according to your word." It was her Amen to the will of God. And God wants us with an Amen in our lives, an inward Amen, a mighty moving Amen, a God-inspired Amen, which says, "It is, because God has spoken. It cannot be otherwise. It is impossible to be otherwise..." (God Given Faith)
John G. Lake (1870-1935)
"Divine healing, what is it? It is healing by the spirit of God, exercised through the spirit of man. Jesus, the Master Healer, not only healed Himself, but empowered His 12 disciples to perform the same ministry. Later He empowered "seventy others also." making in all 82 men who practiced the ministry of healing during His earth life. After the resurrection of Jesus, just before His ascension, a great new commission was given to His disciples. He sent them to preach to all men everywhere, commanding them to "preach the gospel to every creature," and declaring concerning those believers who were to become disciples through their ministry that, "These signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they (the believer) cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." A common fallacy in connection with the subject of healing is taught by the churches at large; namely: First, the days of miracles are past; second, no one healed but the 12 apostles. These statements exist because of the lack of knowledge on the general subject of healing, as set forth in the Scriptures. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul sets forth in order the various gifts of the Spirit prevalent in the church; First, the word of wisdom; second, the word of knowledge; third, faith; fourth, the gifts of healing; fifth, the working of miracles; sixth, prophecy; seventh, discerning of spirits; eighth, divers kinds of tongues; ninth, interpretation of tongues..." (A Lecture on Divine Healing)
Oral Roberts (1918-2009)
"I have heard the voice of God three times. Significantly He spoke to me each time in the Month of May. In May 1935 He said, "Son, I am going to heal you and you are to take my healing power to your generation." In May 1947 He said, "Son, from this hour you will heal the sick and cast out devils by my power."
The third time was in May 1948. I was praying for the sick when He spoke to me that third time. I had been praying only a few minutes when a mother brought her young son to be healed of deafness. His left ear was stone deaf and the other was badly affected. He had not heard me preach—words were mere sounds to his ears.
I reached forth my hand to pray for him when suddenly I heard the voice of God. It was clear and distinct. Immediately I stopped my prayer and stood very still. Here are His exact words to me, "Son, you have been faithful up until this hour and now you shall feel my power in your boy. As I did, I felt physical contact with God's presence in my right hand. It was a tingling sensation like an electrical current. God's presence was throbbing through the flesh of my right hand. I felt it in no other place in my body.
I stood there looking at my right hand and said to myself, "If I have really heard the voice of God and if this feeling in my hand is God's presence, then this boy's ears will be opened." I put my right hand on his deaf ear, and the moment I did I felt that tingling sensation in my right hand. I felt nothing in my left hand. Then I prayed for his other ear by putting my right hand on it. The second time the presence of the Lord surged through it.
I was so positive that the boy was healed, that I turned him away from his mother and asked her to speak to him. She spoke to him in a low voice and he whirled around and repeated what his mother had said. I turned him back again, and she talked to him. He heard every word she said..." (Oral Roberts' Life Story; pg. 109-110)
Are these men perfect? No, but they did more in this field of study than probably all pastors combined, many of which have mocked these men, who were Yahweh's servants. Elisha, a mighty man of Elohim, who raised a dead child, died of an illness. The Apostles, who also raised the dead, could not case out a certain demon from a boy, but none-the-less, we celebrate their mighty victories of power rather than pointing to their short comings. Weak men would rather not try because of their fear of failure, choosing to teach others that power is not available, which leaves them off the hook but we rather chose to believe the written Word of Yahweh, which speaks the truth!
Attached are some PDF files for these individuals. You can acquire their used books from AbeBooks.com
https://www.abebooks.com/
Books Recommended:
"John Alexander Dowie, A life Story of Trials Tragedies and Triumphs" by Gordon Lindsay
"Smith Wigglesworth The Complete Collection of His life Teachings" compiled by Roberts Liardon
"John G. Lake The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings" compiled by Roberts Liardon
"Oral Roberts' Life Story As Told by Himself" by Oral Roberts
