How I Came Into Healing by John Alexander Dowie.

I sat in my study in the parsonage of the earthly temples of God’s children and there was no Congregational Church at Newtown, a suburb of deliverance. the beautiful city of Sydney , Australia. My heart And there I sat with sorrow-bowed head for was very heavy , for I had been visiting the sick and my afflicted people, until the bitter tears came to dying beds of more than thirty of my flock, and I relieve my burning heart. Then I prayed for some had cast the dust to its kindred dust into more message, and oh, how I longed to hear some words than forty graves within a few weeks. Where, oh from Him Who wept and sorrowed for the suffering where, was He Who used to heal His suffering long ago, a Man of Sorrows and Sympathies. The children? No prayer for healing seemed to reach His words of the Holy Ghost inspired in Acts 10:38, ear, and yet I knew His hand had not been stood before me all radiant with light, revealing shortened. Still it did not save from death even Satan as the Defiler, and Christ as the Healer. My those for whom there was so much in life to live for tears were wiped away , my heart strong, I saw the God and others. Strong men, fathers, good citizens, way of healing, and the door thereto was opened and more than all, true Christians sickened with a wide, so I said, “God help me now to preach the putrid fever, suffered nameless agonies, passed into Word to all the dying around, and tell them how `tis delirium, sometimes with convulsions, and then Satan still defiles, and Jesus still delivers, for `He is died. And oh, what aching voids were left in many a j ust the same today .'” widowed or orphaned heart. Then there were many A loud ring and several raps at the outer homes where, one by one, the little children, the door, a rush of feet, and there at my door stood two youths and the maidens were stricken, and after panting messengers who said, “Oh, come at once, hard struggling with the foul disease, they too, lay Mary is dying; come and pray . “With j ust a feeling cold and dead. It seemed sometimes as if I could as a shepherd has who hears that his sheep are almost hear the triumphant mockery of fiends being torn from the fold by a cruel wolf, I rushed ringing in my ear whilst I spoke to the bereaved from my house, ran hatless down the street, and ones the words of Christian hope and consolation. entered the room of the dying maiden. There she Disease, the foul offspring of its father, Satan, and lay groaning, grinding her clenched teeth in the its mother Sin, was defiling and destroying the agony of the conflict with the destroyer, the white froth, mingled with her blood, oozing from her pain- was doing Satan’s will. “It is not so,” I exclaimed, distorted mouth. I looked at her and then my anger “no will of God sends such cruelty , and I shall never burned. “Oh,” I thought, “for some sharp sword of say ‘God’s will be done’ to Satan’s works, which heavenly temper keen to slay this cruel foe who is God’s own Son came to destroy , and this is one of strangling that lovely maiden like an invisible them.” Oh, how the Word of God was burning in my serpent, tightening his deadly coils for a final heart: “Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good, victory .” and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for In a strange way it came to pass; I found the God was with Him.” And was not God with me? And sword I needed was in my hands, and in my hand I was not Jesus there and all His promises true? I hold it still and never will I lay it down. The doctor, felt that it was even so, and turning to the mother I a good Christian man, was quietly walking up and enquired, “Why did you send for me?” To which she down the room, sharing the mother’s pain and answered “Do pray , oh pray for her that God may grief. Presently he stood at my side and said, “Sir, raise her up.” So we prayed. What did I say? It may are not God’s ways mysterious?” Instantly the be that I cannot recall the words without mistake, sword was flashed in my hand-the Spirit’s sword, but words are in themselves of small importance. the Word of God. “God’s way!” I said, pointing to the The prayer of faith may be a voiceless prayer, a scene of conflict, “how dare you, Dr. K-, call that simple heartfelt look of confidence into the face of God’s way of bringing His children home from earth Christ. At such moment words are few, but they to Heaven? No, sir, that is the devil’s work, and it is mean much, for God is looking at the heart. Still, I time we called on Him Who came to `destroy the can remember much of that prayer unto this day , work of the devil,’ to slay that deadly foul destroyer, and asking God to aid I will endeavor to recall it. I and to save the child. Can you pray , Doctor, can cried: “Our Father, help! and Holy Spirit, teach me you pray the prayer of faith that saves the sick?” At how to pray . Plead Thou for us, oh, Jesus, Savior, once, offended at my words, my friend was Healer, Friend, our Advocate with God the Father. changed, and saying, “You are too much excited, Hear and heal, Eternal One! From all disease and sir, ’tis best to say `God’s will be done,'” he left the death deliver this sweet child of Thine. I rest upon room. the Word. We claim the promise now . The Word is Excited! The word was quite inadequate for I true, ‘I am the Lord that healeth thee.’ Then heal was almost frenzied with Divinely imparted anger her now . The Word is true, ‘I am the Lord, I change and hatred of that foul destroyer, Disease, which not.’ Unchanging God, then prove Thyself the healer now . The Word is true, ‘These signs shall laugh, and drank and ate again, and yet again, follow them that believe in My Name, they shall lay until all was gone. In a few minutes she fell asleep, hands on the sick, and they shall recover.’ And I breathing easily and softly . Quietly thanking God believe and I lay hands in Jesus’ Name on her, and we left her bed and went to the next room where claim this promise now . Thy Word is true, ‘The her brother and sister also lay sick of the same prayer of faith shall save the sick.’ Trusting in Thee fever. With these two we also prayed, and they were alone, I cry , oh, save her now, for Jesus’ sake, healed. The following day all three were well and in Amen!” a week or so they brought me a little letter and a And lo, the maid lay still in sleep, so deep gift of gold, two sleeve links with my monogram, and sweet that the mother asked in a low whisper, which I wore for many years. As I went away from “Is she dead?” “No,” I answered, in a whisper lower the home where Christ as the Healer had been still, “Mary will live; the fever is gone. She is victorious, I could not but have somewhat in my perfectly well and sleeping as an infant sleeps.” heart of the triumphant song that rang through Smoothing the long dark hair from her now Heaven, and yet I was not a little amazed at my own peaceful brow, and feeling the steady pulsation of strange doings, and still more at my discovery that her heart and cool moist hands, I saw that Christ He is j ust the same today . had heard and that once more, as long ago in Peter’s house, “He touched her and the fever left her.” Turning to the nurse I said, “Get me at once, please, a cup of cocoa and several slices of bread and butter.” Beside the sleeping maid we sat quietly and almost silently until the nurse returned, and then I bent over her and snapping my fingers called “Mary!” Instantly she woke, smiled and said, “Oh, sir, when did you come? I have slept so long;” then stretching her arms out to meet her mother’s embrace, she said, “Mother, I feel so well.” “And Digital Copyright © 2004 by Healing and Revival Press. All hungry , too?” I asked, pouring some of the cocoa in rights reserved. Excerpt from “The Sermons of John A lexander a saucer and offering it to her when cooled by my Dowie Champ ion of the Faith” by Gordon Lindsay. Small breath. “Yes, hungry too,” she answered with a little typographical corrections have been made.

DIVINE HEALING

SERMONS

AIMEE SEMPLE McPHERSON

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because  He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to  the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken  hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,  and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at  liberty them that are bruised, to preach the  acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18.

“Go your way, and tell John what things ye  have seen and heard; how the blind see, the  lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf  hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever  shall not be offended in me.” Luke 7:22, 23.

AIMEE SEMPLE McPHERSON

CONTENTS

“Is Jesus Christ the Great I Am? or is He

the Great I Was?” Page 11

“A Double Cure for a Double Curse” Page 23

“The Scriptural Relationship of Salvation

and Divine Healing” Page 34

“The Three Parties Concerned in Your Receiving Healing” Page 43

“How to Receive Your Healing” Page 59

“How to Keep It” Page 75

“Questions Frequently Asked Regarding

Divine Healing” Page 85

“Some Wonderful Testimonies of Those

Healed Through Prayer” Page 124

PREFACE

Unto the sick and the suffering, whose weary, thorn-pierced  feet have trod affliction’s rugged path- unto the weak who have  need of strength, and unto the strong whose heart would fain be  skilled in faith to render succor to the weak, this book is loving-  ly dedicated in the Name of Him who gave Himself for us and by  Whose stripes we are made whole.

Day and night I have but to close these eyes of mine to see  again, through misty tears, the drawn, white, pain-blanched faces  of the afflicted of my people.

One moment I am all a-weeping for the multitudes shut outside  the crowded doors and for the thousands we could never reach,  though we toiled day and night;

And the next, my face is smiling, mine eyes are made to shine  a-through the tears, in remembrance of the thousands who went  away skipping, with singing in their hearts; straightened of limb,  clear of eye, and strong of faith; to take up again the broken,  ravelled threads of life, and weave upon the loom some brighter,  fairer picture of a happy, prayer-filled home, wherein the Saviour  spreads His hands in gentle benediction and reigns supreme upon  the altar there.

“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but  My kindness shall not depart from Thee, neither shall the covenant  of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on  thee. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted,  behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy founda-  tions with sapphire. All thy children shall be taught of the Lord;  and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness  shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression: for  thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near  thee. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. This  is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness  is for me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 54: 10-17

Should some poor, tempest-driven soul, whose bark is tossed  upon the waters of affliction, see, shining through these pages, the  bright and steady light of hope and faith, and be guided into the  security and calm of the eternal harbour o’er which the Prince  of Peace has spread His healing wings;

And should some fellow minister receive new faith and inspiration  to go forth and preach the blessed truth of Christ, the Great  Physician, whose power is still unchanged and able still to fill  the every need of His children (be that need in soul or body)  then I shall rejoice indeed, and the glory shall be His.

Aimee Semple McPherson.

Is Jesus Christ The Great “I Am” Or

Is He The Great “I Was?”

Shut in my closet of prayer today, with my Bible  and the Spirit, my Guide, I muse a while o’er its  pages, then pray for the world with its throngs who,  in teeming millions, walk through this life in need of

“The Great I AM.”

As I ponder and pray Jn the stillness, I dream as a  dreamer of dreams. A steepled church stands before  me a church with open doors. Within it I see the  preacher stand; hear his voice in earnest call. But  ’tis the throng that flows through the street outside  that holds my anxious gaze.

“Pit-a-pat! Pit-a-Pat!” say the hundreds and  thousands of feet, surging by the church doors of our  land.

” Pat ! Pat ! Pi t-a-p at!’ ‘hurrying multitudes,  on business and pleasure bent.

From out the church door floats the voice of Pastor  and Evangelist in an effort to halt the down-rushing  throng in their headlong race toward destruction and  attract their attention to the Christ.

“Stop! Stop! Giddy throng, surging by like a  river, take your eyes from the bright lights of the  gilded way,” they cry. “Leave the paths of death,  enter our open door and listen while we tell you the

sweet though ancient story of ‘The Great I WAS.’

“Eloquently, instructively, we will tell you of the

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wonderful power Christ ‘used’ to have, the miracles  He ‘used’ to perform, the sick He ‘used’ to heal. ‘Tis  a graphic and blessed history of those things which  Jesus did almost 1900 years before you were born.  They happened far, far away across a sea which you  have never sailed, in a country which you have never  seen, among people you have never known.  “Wonderful, marvelous, was the power that ‘used”  to flow from ‘The Great I WAS.’ He ‘used’ to open  the blind eyes, unstop the deaf ears, and make the  lame to walk. He ‘used’ to show forth such mighty  works, and even manifest them through His follow-  ers that the attention of the multitudes was arrested  and gripped in such an irresistible way that thou-  sands were brought storming at His door of mercy,  to receive blessing and healing at His hand.

r ‘Of course, these mighty works Christ ‘used’ to do  are done no longer, for some reason. Perhaps Jesus  is too far away, or is too busy making intercession at  the Father’s throne to be bothered with such little  things as the physical infirmities of His children, else  His ear may have grown heavy or His arm be short,  or maybe these mighty works were only done to con-  vince the doubters in that day, and since we have no  doubters (?) in this civilized day and age, the mir-  aculous has passed away and is no longer necessary.  “At any rate the fact remains that the signs and  wonders which He once declared should accompany  His preached Word (Mark 16) are seen no longer.  The power He once displayed, till the glory of His  majesty and love in coming to destroy the works of  the devil, flashed and played through the gloom like

the lightnings around Mount Sinai, is now dark,

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cold, dead. And, as for the visible manifestation of  His power, we are left desolate as though the light  which once shone in the darkness had gone out.

“Come, come to this attractive feast, unheeding  sinners. /Turn now from your Sunday golf, fishing,  theatres and novels.! Come enter our doors that I  may tell you the story of l The Great I WAS, ‘ and the  power that ‘used” to be.” But

“Pit-a-pat! Pit-a-pat!” On go the thousands of

feet ; on to the movie and on to the dance ; on to the  office, the club and the bank.

“Pat! Pat! Pit-a-pat!” “Why don’t you stop  your wayward feet ? Do, you not know that you are  headed for sorrow? Why is it that the theatre is

o ‘er-flowing whilst our pews are empty and bare 1 ‘ ‘

“Pat! Pat! Pat! Pit-a-pat!” “Oh, stop a mo-  ment, the maddening, ceaseless, pattering of multitu-  dinous feet and tell me why you take such interest in  the world about you and show such lethargy, care-  lessness and lack of active interest in my story of  ‘The Great I WAS/ and the power He ‘used’ to have  and the deeds He ‘used’ to do? Why is it that peo-  ple grow enthusiastic over the ball-game, the boxing-  ring, the movies and the dance, while we see no revi-  val of interest or turning to the Christ ? ‘ ‘

On and on they go, paying no heed, neither turning  their eyes from the glittering baubles beyond.

“Why is it, dear Spirit of God,” I ask, “they do  not listen to that dear Brother’s call? They do not  seem interested in the power Christ ‘used’ to have.  In a steady stream they pass by the church and on  into the world of grim realities and the problems  which they must face.

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“Pat! Pat! Pit-a-pat ! ‘ ‘there are young feet,  old feet, light feet, heavy feet, glad feet, sad feet;  joyous feet, tired, discouraged feet ; tripping feet,  lonely, groping feet; straight feet, sick and crippled  feet; eager, searching feet; disillusioned, disappoint-  ed feet; and, as they pass, a message is somehow  tangled up in their pattering, which rises from the  cobble-stones like a mighty throbbing from the heart  of the world.

” ‘Tis not so much what Christ used to do for the  world in answer to prayer in bygone days,” they  seem to say, “but where is His power NOW? And  what can He do TODAY ?”

“Ah yes! 7 ‘ sigh the crippled feet from the pave-  ment, “we are not so vitally interested in the sick He  ‘used* to heal, the limbs He ‘used” to make straight  and strong. (Of course, we are glad to know that  somewhere, sometime, in the distant past Christ  healed the sick in far off lands). But we live in the  great today and Ah me ! ! We are very worn and  weary ! We yearn for healing, hope and strength  today. We stand in need of succor NOW. But you  say these mighty provisions for the healing of the  body, (as well as the soul), which Christ promised in  Psalms 103, Isaiah 53; Matt. 8; Mark. 16; Jas. 5;  were not at all lasting, but were mainly for the Jews  who lived in other days. And in reality your teach-  ing says Christ’s healing of the sick, when He walked  this earth, was not so much for the demonstration  of the tender Saviour’s love and sake of relieving  the sufferers’ pain and a pity for the sick themselves,  as to build up His own cause and make the world  believe and, accomplishing this, He withdrew the life

line of hope and coiled it up again. So, as the church

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cannot supply my need, I must pass on in further

search of help from another source.”

“And we, 7 ‘ say the tired, discouraged feet, “are  also glad that in a far off land, He gave the weary  rest ; and they, who had well nigh lost the faith and  trust in their fellow-man, found truth and grace in  Him.

“But you say He is afar off now? That we live  in a different dispensation? His promises were  largely for the Jewish people anyway ? Then there ‘s  not much for us here, so we walk past your door  seeking elsewhere a haven of rest and hope.”

“And we,” the glad, young, joyous feet, send up a  rippling echo from the pavement, “we are in search  of something that can give us joy and happiness to-  day. You say God ‘used’ to make His little ones so  happy that they danced and shouted for joy. We,  too, want joy ! Not the joy that ‘used’ to be but joy  of heart today. As it is taken away from the church,  we seek it in the world.”

“And we,” say the heavy, groping, lonely feet,  “are bereaved and seek comfort and rest. For us  the shades of night are falling. The knowledge that  Christ ‘once’ dried tears and bare the heavy load is  blest indeed, but Oh!, we of today need succor now.  Preaching ‘The Great I WAS’ can never satisfy our

longings, WE NEED ‘THE GREAT I AM.’

‘ ‘ The Great I AM ‘ ‘why yes ! That ‘s it exactly !  That’s what this old world needs. A Christ who  lives and loves and answers prayer today. A Christ  who changeth not but is the same today as He was  yesterday, and will be evermore. A Christ whose

power knows neither lack nor cessation. A Lord

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whose Name is “I AM” forever, even unto all genera-  tions.

When the Lord bade Moses go, call the children of  Israel from the flesh pots and bondage, sin and sick-  ness of Egypt, Moses inquired of Him, “When they  shall ask who sent me? and What is His Name?  what shall I say unto them?” and He said 1 , “Thus  shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath  sent me unto you. This is my Name forever, and this

is my memorial unto all generations.”

Oh, what a wonderful Name ! What a wonderful  promise ! Glory ! Glory ! to God !

Moses did not need to go about apologetically and  say, M ‘The Great I WAS’ hath sent me unto you, His  name is ‘I WAS’ because He ‘used’ to do great things  long ago. He expended the last of His power in  creating the heavens and the earth and all that in  them is. He is quite far off now and the necessity  for this miraculous manifestation of His power is no  longer needed, seeing that all things have now been  created. He does not do mighty works today but  please come, follow and obey the message of ‘The  Great I WAS. ‘ :

Why, I doubt whether they would have followed  such a call. The message which Moses bore rang  clear and firm “I AM hath sent me.” He walked  with assurance. The solid rock was under his feet.  His God was a living God a miracle-working God.  Moses knew his business was to preach and deliver  the message God had given him. “The Great I AM”  had contracted to back up that message with signs  following. ‘ ‘ I AM I AM I AM ! ‘ ‘ rang in the ears  of Moses every step he took.

Ah ! It gives a servant of God some heart to know

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that “I AM” hath sent him. No more apologizing.  No more hanging the head and resorting to earthly  means; no more trembling and fear of failure, no  dread now that the crowds will not follow ! Head  erect, footsteps firm and full of assurance, earthly  temple clad with a robe of the majesty and tender-  ness of the Father, hands pointing unhesitatingly to  the w r ay, voice ringing clear and authoritative “I  AM, I AM hath sent me unto you” !

” ‘I AM’ lives today. He will tabernacle in our  midst. ‘I AM’ will deliver us from our enemies. He  will guide us by His hand. ‘I AM’ will feed us with  the bread from the heavens and give us water from  the rock. ‘I AM’ will deliver us from the sickness

and the diseases of the Egyptians, saying, ‘If you will  walk in My ways and keep My statutes none of the  diseases which have been put upon the Egyptians  shall come nigh you. ‘I AM’ will lead us into the

promised land

Oh, the blessed assurance, the authority, the majes-  tic glory of the name “I AM !” No wonder the chil-  dren of Israel left the flesh-pots and the bands that  bound them. No wonder the weary eyes of the toiler  looked up with new interest and hope. No wonder  that hands which had hung down were lifted and the  feeble knees made strong when Moses could promise  them that when the Lord said unto those which were  weak, “Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord  will do great things,” He meant just what He said.  He did not have to say, “The Lord ‘used’ to do great  things,” but could triumphantly declare, “The Lord  ‘will’ do great things; for He is ‘The Great I AM,’  and though heaven is His home, the earth is His foot-  stool where He answers the prayers of His people.”

Seventeen

During Moses’ ministry, the sick were healed, the  lepers cleansed, the plague stayed.

Oh, Moses how we envy you, the great commis-  sion, GO ! call my people out of bondage into liberty ;  out of darkness into light ; out of sin into holiness ;  out of sickness into health ! But tell us, just when  did the day of supernatural, miraculous manifesta-  tion of the power of God end? When did “I AM”

become “I WAS?”

Why, little children, “I AM” hath never changed!  His power is just the same in this thy day as it was  in the days of yore. Did He not say, “This is My  Name forever even unto ALL generations”? They  who have faith shall see the lightnings of His glory  flash in power of answered prayer today, as in the  days of old. Elijah and Elisha lived in a day when  doubters said the miraculous had passed away and  “I AM” had become “I WAS.” But through faith  and prayer they proved His name to be “I AM” unto  their generations. After the ascension of the Only  Begotten of the Father, Jesus Christ, the disciples  proved that “He who was dead is alive forevermore”  the Great I AM, who saves and heals and baptizes  with the Spirit’s power.

On and on through the centuries, though surround-  ed by unbelief and skepticism; there have always  been the Elijahs and the Peters who have proved  that “I AM” is His Name even unto their generation.  John Wesley believed that Christ was not only to  save but to heal the sick in his day. In his biography  he tells of the lame made to walk, cancers which

melted away and even a lame horse made whole

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through answered prayer; thus proving “I AM” to  be the Lord’s Name even unto his generation.

Then surely He has not changed at this late hour !  Surely, He is the same today. Elijah, Peter, John  Wesley and an army of others who had heard and  obeyed the message, “Thus shall you say I AM hath  sent me/ 7 were ridiculed and persecuted by those  they loved the best. Even so today, though it means  being despised and misunderstood, get alone in the  wilderness of quiet and stillness before God. Seek  His face till your soul is kindled with the flame of  love from the burning bush. Get your authority  from God. Inquire of Him, “When they shall ask  who sent me and what is his name ? what shall I say  unto them?” Hear His reply, “Thus shalt thou say  unto them, ‘I AM’ hath sent me” and let it ring in  your soul forever, louder, clearer, more wonderful in  its revelation of the ever-living Christ with each new  step and turn of the way. Victory is assured and  the only solution to the problem of drawing the mul-  titude is to lift up, not the dead, but the living

Christ; not the Great “I WAS” but the Great “I  AM.”

Thanks ! Thanks ! for that message, dear Lord.  The clouds of uncertainty are dispelled the shades  of night rolled back. We see Thee in a new and  glorious light, even as the Sun of Righteousness with  healing in Thy wings. “I AM” is Thy Name today  and shall be evermore !

“I AM the Lord, I change not.”

“I AM the Lord that hath chosen thee and called  thee by thy name.”

“I AM come down to deliver thee and to bring

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thee up into a good land and a large ; unto a land  flowing with milk and honey. ‘ ‘

“I AM (not I WAS but I AM) the Lord that heal-  eththee.”

“I AM He who was dead but am alive forever-  more.”

“I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the

end, the first and the last.”

How the “I AMS” of the Lord come rolling in, like  the billows of a full, o ‘erflowing sea, whose tide rises  higher toward down-bending heavens.

Glory ! Glory ! My own poor heart is running  over like a tiny cup that would seek to hold the  ocean! God is speaking in my ears, “I AM THAT I  AM.’ 7 The earth resounds with His voice. The  eternal hills and the mountains swell the song, “I AM  shall be My Name f orevermore. ‘ ‘ And away up yon-  der the glorious stars of the heaven echo back again  “Even unto all generations this shall be my  Name.” Angels and cherubim bend low over heav-  en’s balustrade and sing a new song of inspiration  “Go forth, my child, and this thy cry shall be, ‘I AM

I AM hath sent me unto thee’.”

Again. I see the steepled church. But now the  scene is changed.

“Pat! Pat! Pit-a-pat” -The street that lies be-  fore it is still with people filled But they are no  longer passing “by”- The crowds are passing “in.”  They fill the pews and the galleries. They stand in  the aisles and climb to the window sills. They pack  the doorways and stand on the stairs. The streets  and the lanes are filled. The Gospel nets are full to  the bursting and there is no more room to contain  the multitudes that throng the place.

Twent}’

And out o’er the heads of the people I hear the  message ring :

“Awake! thou that sleepest, arise -from the dead!  The Lord still lives today. His power has never  abated. His Word has never changed. The things  He did in Bible days, He still lives to do today. Not  a burden is there He cannot bear nor a fetter He  cannot break.

“Here bring your sins, He’ll wash them away.

Here bring your sicknesses He’ll heal you today.  We serve not a dead but a living God not ‘I WAS,’  but ‘The Great I AM.’

“Come young, come old; come sad, come glad;  come weary and faltering of step ; come sick, come  well ! come one, come all unto i The Great I AM. ‘  There is food for the hungry, there is strength for the  faint ; there is hope for the hopeless, and sight for  the blind.”

“Pit-a-pat! Pit-a-pat!” Faster and faster they  come ! The church is o ‘erflowing ; they are filling the  streets. Their faces are shining; in their eyes the  light of hope has been kindled by the taper of faith

through the preaching of “The Great I AM.”

They are reaching out their hands for forgiveness,  for the healing of the crippled and sick. They are  thirsting for the joy of salvation; hungering for the  Bread of Life. They are seeking the power of the  Holy Ghost and something practical which can meet  the immediate and pressing need of the great today,  and fit them for the morrow. And they have found  the source of sure supply in the church the house of  God from under whose altar and o ‘er whose thresh-  hold runs the ever deepening stream of life. They

seek no further, through the briers of the world

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they have found “The Great I AM” and sing:

“Wisdom, righteousness and power,

Holiness forevermore

My redemption full and sure,

Christ is all I need.”

Burdens are lifted, tearful weeping eyes are dried,  the sick are healed, the crooked made straight. Sin-  guilty hearts are cleansed and made holy. Empty  water-pots are filled with wine. And the cold, world-  ly church has risen from the dust in garments glister-  ing, white. With oil in their lamps and sheaves in

their arms they worship “The Great I AM.”

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A Double Cure For A Double Curse

When Satan entered the purity of the Garden of Eden,  in the form of a serpent, two “angels of darkness” fol-  lowed hard on his trail his coming brought the double  curse of Sin and Sickness.

When Christ came into the dying world to redeem it  from the curse, there came in His blessed footsteps “two  angels” of light and hope His coming brought the double  cure, Salvation and Healing.

In the beginning the world emerged from under  the hand of God, good, and pure and perfect.

In the Garden of Eden, the most perfect spot in a  perfect world, He placed the perfect man and woman,  Adam and Eve, whom He had formed from the dust  of the ground and into -whose nostrils He had  breathed the breath of life.

In innocence and purity they dwelled ‘neath the  flowing boughs and trailing flowers of rich fruit-la-  den trees. Busy bees droned contentedly in the per-  fumed air as the golden, mellow sunlight of a perfect  day filtered through the dense green foliage of leaf  and branch and splashed upon a floor carpeted with  violets, moss and lichen. Birds of rich plumage flit-  ted from tree to tree, and high above it all a songful  lark sprang high into the open heaven showering the  air with musical praise.

Into the tranquil beauty of this garden which His  own loving hand had planted, God loved to walk in  the cool of the day, communing with man whom He  had made after His own image, and filled with His  breath Divine.

How peaceful their abode ! How blessed their  communion ! How blissful their freedom of body,  soul and- spirit ! Theirs but one requirement faith  in the Word of the Father and obedience to His com-  mand.

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But alas! The gleaming, malevolent, calculating  eyes of Satan were watching from the distance.  Seething hatred for God, and jealousy of man fer-  menting in his soul; cunning planning in his heart.  Once he had been an angel of authority in Heaven,  but because of jealousy, disobedience and treachery  he had fallen as a flaming torch from Heaven draw-  ing a third of the angels with him. (Luke 10: 18;

Isaiah 14:12-14.)

The burning passion in his diabolic nature now  longed for revenge for a way to strike back. And  here here in this blissful garden of Eden with its  stately trees, its hanging flowers, its luscious fruit-  age and its dancing, sparkling brooks and rivers  where God had placed the children of His own dear  handiwork, he had found the place for revenge !

Now whom did the Father so love as these chil-  dren? Had He not toiled through the days to create  the earth for his habitation? And what was there in  heaven or on earth that so grieved and pierced the  pure heart of the Father as disobedience and sin?  Hath it not been written that : God cannot look up-  on sin with the least degree of allowance? Hath He  not said : The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die ?  Full well did Satan know that God in His justice  would show no partiality. And though His heart  was torn and bleeding the curse of His disapproval  must fall upon the inmates of the Garden and the  whole earth must be jolted and shaken with the im-  pact of the fall.

With fiendish cunning Satan took upon himself the  form of a flashing, scintillating serpent, (said at that  time to be the most beautiful and subtle beast of the  field) and in shimmering, graceful strides, and his  Twenty -four

most captivating manner he drew near unto the wo-  man and began to sow the fateful seeds of unbelief  within her heart :

“Yea, God hath said, that in the day ye eat of the  tree in the middle of the garden ye shall surely die  but God does not mean that which He said Ye

shall not surely die.”

The first lie the devil told the human family, the  first seed of doubt he sowed in their hearts was that  of doubting the veracity and absolute, unchangeable  truth of God’s Word. He has been engaged with  the same task ever since.

Behind the devil as he enters the garden, stand  two fearsome demons of night. Our hearts are re-  pulsed and shuddering as we gaze on each cruel face.

Oh Mother Eve ! Could you not see them ? Why  were your eyes so blinded? On each shield, with  which they cover themselves is the form of a vene-  mous serpent with a parting, darting, poisonous  tongue. In his hand each demon holds a fork  with sharp, barbed prongs with which to pierce body  and soul with fearful wounds, which no earthly pow-  er can heal. Oh Eve ! can ‘t you see them, hand in  hand, an invincible, inseparable pair twin angels of  darkness, agents of despair, relentless and cruel?  Their names are written on their shields “Sin” and

“Sickness.”

But the eyes of Eve were riveted in fascination on  the shimmering serpent’s form ! Her ears hearkened  to that smooth deceiver’s voice. Thus Eve was de-  ceived, and in obeying the word of Satan she dis-  obeyed her Lord, ate of the forbidden fruit, and gave  Adam to eat also.

Soon came the footsteps of God, walking in the

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garden in the cool of the evening. “Adam, where  art thou?” His voice rang out in tones of thunder  that struck fear and quaking into those guilty souls  who sought to hide them from His gaze. Quick as a  flash His keen, all-seeing eye read the story and His  heart was grieved and sad. They had sold them-  selves to the devil, and the twin demons of darkness  laughed as they reached out through the gathering  gloom, the more firmly to grip the erring ones on the  prongs of suffering and sin.

Hand in hand came sin and sickness into the gar-  den of life. Hand in hand they have walked through  the years since that day. But instead of leaving His  children in the hands of the devil to suffer the double  curse they had brought upon themselves through dis-  obedience, the great loving Father-heart of God be-  gan even then to lay plans for their redemption a  double cure for a double curse.

But there and then, even though man must needs  be driven from the garden, God gave His first pro-  phetic promise that through the seed of woman  should come He that should bruise the head that  bruised His heel. All down through the coming  years that led by a winding trail, through many lands  and many tears, on through the days of Abel, Seth,  and Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and  David even down to the cross of Christ this prom-  ise was reiterated through the prophets and sages.

Thus it was that as far back as the days of Moses  it was an understood fact that salvation and healing  were provided in the atonement through the Lamb  slain from the foundation of the world. When Moses  brought the children of Israel from Egypt and turned  their faces toward the promised land God spake to  them, saying: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to  Twenty -six

the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which  is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His com-  mandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none  of these diseases upon thee, which I have put upon

the Egyptians for I am the Lord that healeth thee. ‘ ‘

Clearly the Father signified that with disobedience  and sin would come sickness and disease. Later  when disobedience and sin had laid them low and  fiery serpents bit them till they died God commanded  that a brazen serpent (brass signifying judgment)  should be lifted up in the wilderness even as Christ  was later to pass through the judgment for us and be  lifted up on the cross of Calvary. Those who looked  upon the serpent that was lifted up in the wilderness  had life for a look. They found therein the double  cure forgiveness for the soul and healing for the  body.

When Miriam through the sin of criticism and  backbiting fell ill of leprosy white as snow, Moses  besought God for the double cure. After pleading  the mercy and pardon of the Lord he cries, “Heal  her now, God 1 , I beseech Thee.” Numbers 12:13.

Of the double cure for the double curse the Psalm-  ist spake clearly, saying, “Bless the Lord my soul,  and forget not all His benefits, Who forgiveth all  thine iniquities, and who healeth all thy diseases.”  Ps. 103:2, 3. Notice the first two benefits David  mentions are those of forgiveness and salvation,  which is to overthrow the powers of sin, and divine  healing for the body to overthrow sickness and dis-  ease.

Isaiah catching sight of the Great Redeemer  through the lifted veil, beheld Christ as the Man of  Sorrows and acquainted with grief. He sees in His  Twenty -seven

glorious coming the double cure for the double curse,  and declares of His work of atonement: “He was  wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our ini-  quities (notice the word ‘ bruised,’ God had said of  Him that He would bruise the head that bruised His  heel) . . . and by His stripes we are healed.”  Isaiah 53.

“But does not this promise refer to spiritual heal-  ing only?” asks one timid soul to whom the news  seems almost too good to be true. No, Matthew  8 :16, 17, describes Christ healing the sick, casting out  demons, causing the blind to see and the lame to  walk, and then tells us that this physical healing is  the literal interpretation of Isaiah 53. Head the 17th  verse and note Matthew’s interpretation of that  promise. “This was done that it might be fulfilled  which was spoken by Esaias the prophet saying:  Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses. ‘ ‘

The coming ^of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the  seed of woman, : jwas the coming of the great deliverer  to redeem a stricken world from the curse. Speak-  ing of His own mission Jesus plainly said. “The  Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath  anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He  hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted ; to preach  deliverance to the captives, and 1 recovering of sight  to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,  to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke  4:18, 19.

blessed Light that shineth in the darkness, even  though the darkness comprehendeth it not ! bless-  ed Burden-Bearer carrying our sins, bearing our  sicknesses, enduring our pain, would that the world  might see Thee !

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Oh, look, heart-sore world, canst thou not see the  two great blessings that follow the Master wherever  He goes, like two bright angels of light, who stand  hand in hand, with shining swords bearing the sign  of the cross and holding aloft the Spirit’s sword to  cut thy bonds in twain? Salvation declares, “Thy  sins be all forgiven thee.” Healing cries: “Be  thou made whole, take up thy bed and walk ! ‘ ‘ and  o ‘er mountain and dale, in valley or plain, within the  palace and in the hut wherever this dear Jesus of  Galilee went He brought with Him this double cure,  Salvation and Healing.

“Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts,” said He,  “for whether is easier to say: Thy sins be forgiven  thee, or Take up your bed and walk?” Whether is  easier who is there among us dare to say ? For this  heaven-born, heaven-sent pair stand hand in hand,  shield to shield a double cure for a double curse.

In God’s plan they should never be divided.

When the short years of our Lord’s ministry,  wherein He went about destroying the works of the  devil, namely forgiving sin and healing the sick,  were ended, the hour approached for His torturous  death on the cross. Emerging from Gethsemane  Garden when the long night was o’er, He was con-  demned before Pontius Pilate to die on the rugged  tree.

But before they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,  something of great importance must take place,  something that makes our cheeks blanch and the  tear drops to start at the very thought, they must  bare our Savior’s back to the smiters, tie Him to  the whipping-post, and flog Him with the cruel lash.

Did you ever wonder why?

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Blow upon blow, fell on the tender, quivering flesh  of the gentle Nazarene. The biting whip rose and  fell again and again in the hands of the Roman sol-  dier, till the great purple welts stood on the precious  back that was so soon to bear the cross fell till the  drops of blood dripped upon the ground. Some forty  blows were permissible in those days and men often  fainted or even died at the whipping-post.

“Tell me, dear Spirit, Teacher and Guide, tell  me WHY did they whip Him so ? Was He whipped

that my many sins might be washed away?”

“No, child, the blood on the cross was sufficient for  that.”

“Then why did they pluck the beard from His face,  and beat Him with cruel staves, was that for the  cleansing of sin?”

“No, child, the Blood was sufficient for that.”

“Then why, Spirit of God, tell me why did they  torture my Saviour so ? Was God merely permitting  the vindictive, fiendish wrath of an angry mob to be  wreaked upon the head of His blessed Son? Else  if His stripes did not cleanse me from sin, then WHY  did they whip Him so?”

“Why, child! Do you not know the meaning of  that lash, the cruel blows of the smiters’ scourge?  ‘Twas thus He bare your suffering, and by His  stripes ye are healed. Not a meaningless blow, not  a meaningless pain did ‘that precious Body bear. At  the whipping-post He purchased your healing, bare  your suffering and pain. On the cross He purchased  your pardon, forgiveness and cleansing from sin.  Healed by His stripes, cleansed by His blood  blessed double cure for a double curse for all who

will look and live.”

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But have not these twain been separated, till only  Salvation remains? Then His stripes were borne in  vain.

Hearken to the words of the Master : ” The works  that I do shall ye do, and greater works than these  shall ye do because I go to My Father. All power  is given unto me, in heaven and in earth. Go ye  therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the  Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy  Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things, what-  soever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you  always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”  Matt. 28:18-20.

“As ye go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven  is at hand, cleanse the leper, heal the sick, cast out  demons, freely as ye have received freely give/’  “Into whatsoever city or town ye enter heal the sick  that are therein and say unto them, The Kingdom of  God is come nigh unto you.” And He sent them to  preach the Gospel and heal the sick. And said,  ‘ ‘ These signs shall follow them that believe : in My  name shall they cast out devils ; they shall speak with  new tongues; they shall lay hands on the sick and  they shall recover.” Mark 16:17, 18.

Jesus the same yesterday, today and forever still  brings the double cure for soul and body. There is  still life for a look at the Crucified One, and they  who touch the hem of His garment may still be  made whole.

In the fifth chapter of James, the elders of the  church are given instructions to anoint the sick (who  call for them) with oil, and pray the prayer of faith,

having the promise of the double cure . . . The

prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord shall  raise him up, and if he hath committed sins they shall  be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another  and pray one for another that ye may be healed.  What a sweet relationship there here exists between  Salvation and Healing.

This does not mean that we will never die. There  comes a day when the sands of the years are run and  the child of God is caught up and goes sweeping  home to glory. Thank God for that hope ! ‘Tis not  that they who claim the promise of healing fear  death. To be absent from the body is to be present  with the Lord. But it does mean that instead of  suffering, and groaning all the days of our lives with  a torturous disease, it is possible to look away to  Jesus and take that for which He paid with cruel  stripes, and the shedding of His precious blood.

Too long have we wandered in weakness and pov-  erty, when we might have had His strength and rich-  es 1 Too long have we lain starving, when we might  have been feasting in Father’s banquet hall.

A man in straitened financial circumstances once  bought a ticket for an ocean voyage.

“Now I must be very saving of my few remaining  dollars, “he told himself. ” I’ll just buy some crack-  ers and drink water with them for the duration of

my voyage, thus leaving a small sum for my arrival. ‘ ‘

Days wore by one by one, and the poor man be-  came more and more famished for a good square  meal and more disgusted with crackers and water.  On the day that the steamer was scheduled to arrive  in port he could bear it no longer, if it took the last  cent, he decided that he must have one more good  meal.

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But when he made his way to the dining salon, its  beauty and the fine food which was being served,  course after course at the tables, the white linen and  shining silver caused him to doubt. Such a fine din-  ing room, perhaps he would not have money enough  after all! Catching the eye of the steward he in-  quired :

“Sir, w^ould you please be kind enough to tell me  the cost of a meal in that dining room?” The waiter  looked at the man with amazement and said :

“Why I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I want to know how much one good, square meal  at that table would cost me, please.”

“Why you have a ticket for this steamship voyage,  haven’t you?”

“Ticket? Why y-yes,” stammered the man.

“Then your meals don’t cost you a penny. They  are all included in your ticket. Where have you  been at meal times? Why did you not come to the  table? Your place has been set and held vacant foi

you all the time.”

“Why I’ve been sitting in my state-room eating  crackers and drinking cold water, every day, because

I thought I could not afford the dining room.”

And, Oh dear ones, many of us have gone almost  to the end of life ‘s voyage before realizing the good  things included in our ticket. Salvation, Healing,  the power of the Holy Spirit and rich life in Christ  are yours for the asking. Draw near today and cry :  Thou Son of David, have mercy upon me. I now ap-  propriate Thy promises, and claim as mine the rich  provision Thou hast made for me, even the double  cure with its blessings for body and soul.

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The Scriptural Relationship of Divine

Healing and Salvation

In God’s great plan of Redemption, Salvation for  the soul, and Divine Healing for the body, were unit-  ed in holy matrimony, and destined to walk together,  hand in hand, through the ages. Unbelief has sought  to divorce this heaven-born pair; but prayer and  faith still prove they are united.

Healing for the body was included in the atone-  ment made by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Beaten  with cruel stripes, He purchased healing for the  body. Wounded for our transgressions, He bought  Eedemption for every soul that would believe on  Him with the whole heart.

In the Beginning

In the beginning, man through disobedience, trans-  gressed the law of God. Believing the words of  Satan, rather than the words of God, the inmates of  the garden did exactly what God told them not to  do ; and through their disobedience opened the door  to that inseparable pair, sin and suffering. Man had  sold himself for naught, and engaged himself to be  the bond-servant of the devil. Banished from the  garden, sweating through the toil of the day, groan-  Thirty -four

ing in labor and pain, how hopeless was their state !

But hark ! The voice of God spoke to them and  with His promise came a shaft of light from the Son  of Righteousness, falling athwart the darkness of the  night, cleaving it asunder and promising the opening  of a “New and Living Way”; spelling deliverance  from sin and its awful consequences, and the regain-  ing of that which they had lost. For, His unfailing  Word had promised that the seed of the woman was  to come and bruise the head that bruised His heel.

Hallelujah !

Through the centuries of the Old Testament, the  faithful received forgiveness of their sins and heal-  ing for their bodies by believing on Him who was to  come and bear their griefs, in His own body on the  tree. And thus it was, though plagues were ram-  pant all about them, the Lord said, “If thou wilt dili-  gently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and  wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give  ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes,  I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I  have brought upon the Egyptians : for I am the Lord  that healeth thee.” Ex. 15:26.

In Moses’ Day

When Miriam fell ill of leprosy, because of criti-  cism and backbiting, repentance and faith in the  Lord brought forgiveness and healing. The cry ” Al-  as! my Lord … we have done foolishly …. we

have sinned . . . Heal her now, God, I beseech

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Thee.” (Ex. 12:13, 14) brought the answer down  from heaven, forgiveness and healing came forth to-  gether to reign in the stead of sickness and sin.

When the children of Israel committed a grievous  sin before the Lord, sickness and plague followed  hard on its trail, till they died and fell in heaps.

And Moses said 1 , Go quickly, and make an atonement  for them : for there is wrath gone out from the Lord  and the plague is begun. And Aaron ran into the  midst of the people and made an atonement for the  people. He stood between the living and 1 the dead,  and the plague was stayed.” (Numbers 16:46, 47).  Again sickness and suffering follow the offspring of  the devil sin. And again Salvation and Healing  follow repentance, obedience, and faith.

And when, through disobedience and sin, they lay  dying from the bites of fiery serpents, pardon and  healing came together. When from the depths of re-  pentance and sorrow they cried, “We have sinned,  for we have spoken against the Lord, and against  thee; pray for us unto the Lord that He take away  the serpents from us,” the Lord bade Moses “make a  serpent of brass, and 1 put it upon a pole ; and it shall  come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he  looketh upon it shall live. ‘ ‘ And to our own hearts,  the blessed hope is born, for as the serpent was lifted  up in the wilderness, so’ Christ was lifted up on the  cross, bearing our sin, carrying our sorrow, cruelly  smitten and bearing the stripes for our healing.

When the angel of death was passing over Egypt,  the children of Israel found peace and safety through  the slain Paschal lamb. The broken body of the

lamb provided food and strength for their bodily

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needs; whilst the blood on the door procured their  deliverance and protection. And so it is with Jesus,  the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  Through the stripes and sufferings which He bore He  brings us healing; whilst His precious blood, upon  the lintels of our hearts brings pardon, and the pass-  ing over of the wrath of God.

In the Day of David and Isaiah

On and on through the pages of the Word, walk  Salvation and Healing side by side. On they walk  through David’s day and, seeing them, the Psalmist  catches up his harp and sings, in a rapturous thanks-  giving, ” Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not  all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities;  who healeth all thy diseases : who redeemeth thy life  from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving 1  kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy  mouth with good things; so that thy youth is re-  newed like the eagle’s.”

Dear, precious Redeemer with every turned page  His coming is nearer and clearer, till Isaiah 53 is  reached. And, beholding Him through tear-dimmed  eyes of faith, the prophet cries, “He was wounded for  our transgressions . . . and by His stripes we are  healed.”

Everywhere, confident, undisputed co-operative re-  lationship and unity is found existing between the  salvation of the soul, and healing for the body, which  our Eedeemer should purchase on the cross for all  who would believe with the whole heart.

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In Jesus’ Day

With the coming of the Lord, the two were even  more visibly and inseparably bound together. He  came to destroy the works of the devil and through  His years of ministry upon the earth, our Lord went  about forgiving sin and healing all that were op-  pressed of the devil. With what sweet and gracious  benediction fell His words upon the troubled heart :  “Thy sins are all forgiven thee go in peace and sin  no more/’ or “Thy sins are forgiven thee rise, take  up thy bed and walk.” Hallelujah! What a De-  liverer is this what a precious double cure for soul  and body, praise the Lord !

In Matthew 9 :2, a man was brought to Jesus sick  with palsy and lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their  faith, said unto the man, sick with the palsy : ‘ ‘ Son,  be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee,” but,  behold, certain scribes who, though forced by what  their eyes had seen in the past to believe Christ’s  power to heal the sick, doubted in their hearts His  ability to forgive sin. Jesus, knowing their thoughts,  said, ” Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts, for  whether is it easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee ;  or to say, Arise, and walk?”

The scribes of that day had admitted Christ’s pow-  er to heal, but disputed His power to forgive. To-  day the attitude of the doubter is quite reversed  many who admit His power to forgive sin, doubt His  ability to heal the sick. But Jesus says : ‘ ‘ Which is  easier?” and the simple facts are that it is just as  easy for the Lord to do the one as the other.

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Salvation and Healing Hand in Hand in

Great Commission

When sending forth His disciples, Matt. 10 :7, 8, the  Lord commanded them, saying: “As ye go., preach,  saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the  sick, cleanse the leper . . . freely as ye have received,  freely give.” In His great world-wide commission,  under which we live and work for Christ today, Jesus  said : ‘ ‘ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gos-  pel to every creature. He that believeth and is bap-  tized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall  be damned. And these signs shall follow them that  believe: In my Name shall they cast out devils;  they shall speak with new tongues . . . they shall

lay hands on the sick,and they shall recover. ‘ ‘

Not once is there an intimation that salvation and  healing are to be separated ; but only the constant as-  surance that Jesus is the very same yesterday, today  and forever, and His promise that “the works that I  do shall ye do also, and greater works than these

shall ye do because I go to my Father. ‘ ‘

In the Acts of the Apostles

In the “Acts of the Apostles” divine healing is  still the hand-maiden of the Gospel. “And they  went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord  working with them, and confirming the word with

signs following. Amen. ‘ ‘

The healing of the lame man in Acts 3 resulted in  the conversion of 5,000 men in Acts 4 -A.

When surrounded by the hosts of darkness, un-  belief and fierce opposition, the prayer of Bible-day

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believers was that healing for the body might be the  advance guard of faith in the spoken Word: “And  now, Lord, behold 1 their threatening^ ; and grant un-  to thy servants, that with all boldness they may  speak thy word, by (note the connection between the  two) stretching forth thine hand to heal; that signs  and wonders may be done by the name of thy Holy  Child, Jesus. ” (Acts 4:29, 30).

In Acts 5 :12-16, Salvation and Divine Healing are  so closely interwoven as to seem almost inseparable.  “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs  and wonders wrought among the people ….

and believers were the more added 1 to the Lord, mul-  titudes, both men and women. Insomuch that they  brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them  on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of  Peter, passing by, might overshadow some of them.  There came also a multitude out of the city round  about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them  which were vexed with unclean spirits; and 1 they  were healed every one.”

On and on they journeyed together, to the last  chapter of Acts, where Paul, on the Isle of Melita,  healed the sick in Jesus’ name, as freely as he  preached the glorious Gospel.

According to James

In James 5:14-15, salvation and healing are still

united. And in the apostle’s instructions to the  church, and the tribes scattered abroad, we read, “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 ; and the pray-

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er of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall  raise him up; and (note the connection) if he have  committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. ‘ ‘ What  a close harmony is here existent between salvation  and healing ! Who would dare cross out the forgive-  ness and leave the healing, or cross out the healing  and leave the forgiveness?

Note the sweet union in the next verse also (v. 16),  “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one

for another, that ye may be healed. ”

And now, God’s word still stands as sure and true  as ever. Not one of His good promises has ever  crumbled in the dust. They who come to Christ in  full surrender, forsaking the world and seeking Him  with all their hearts, in faith and obedience, still  find His power the very same.

On Calvary ‘s cross, the great Redeemer carried not  only our sin, but “Himstelf took our infirmities, and  bare our sicknesses.” Matt. 8:17. While many stand  in doubt, thinking that His healing power has been  withdrawn and that His saving grace alone remains,  thousands are laying hold of the promise, taking  Christ at His Word and being healed of their disease.

Oh, the wonderful miracles which our eyes have  beheld in the past few months the blind receiving  sight the deaf ears unstopped the lame and para-  lyzed standing and leaping for joy ! And how these  miracles have brought the sinner weeping to the  cross ! Hard, sneering skeptics have turned pale and  fallen to their knees. Proud women have sobbed and  given their hearts to Christ, and oh, we KNOW that  Christ is just the same today as in the days of old.

His saving and His healing power are just the same

if only we believe. Whilst some content themselves

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with telling only what Christ used to do in days gone  by, others are rising up and pressing through the  throng to touch His garment now. And by their  faith they are made whole. What a blessed privi-  lege ! What a real and practical Gospel of power,  that cannot be gainsaid ! What a wonderful Saviour  is the Christ, ‘ ‘ Who f orgiveth all thine iniquities, who  healeth all thy diseases.”

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The Three Parties Concerned In Your

Healing

There are three parties concerned in your receiv-  ing Divine Healing yourself, the Lord Jesus, and  the one who prays for you. Let us consider just  what part each must take in order to bring it about.  The first to be concerned in your healing is, of course,

Yourself

If you would be cleansed and made every whit  whole, you have a part to do in pressing through the  thronging doubt, hindrances and materialism of the  day, and touching the hem of the Master’s robe. So  often people come for prayer who have only a ” pas-  sive faith” and are dumbly hoping that I can heal  them or do all the interceding in their behalf.

Though the hands of everyone about them may be  lifted in intercession, their faces wet with tears and  a real prayer of faith in their hearts, such an one  stands passively without any real soul outcry to  God, waiting for our prayers to heal him and “hop-  ing” it will be done. If they are healed, they will  be grateful to those who prayed and say that they  “certainly had some kind of power.” If not healed,  they will go out and criticize the meeting, telling the  people that they “tried it” or “had a treatment”  but that it did them no good.

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But do you not see that these did not do their part  in pressing through to Jesus with active faith and  believing prayer? You can try doctors, try medicine,  try science, try baths and electric treatment but you  can NOT “try” Jesus Christ. Remember also that  neither Christ nor His servants who pray for you  give “treatments.” That word belongs to doctors  or Christian Science but has no place in the Bible or  in these revival meetings. The very fact that one  uses this word in this connection would indicate that  his heart is far from God and that the truth concern-  ing the atonement and power of the slain Lamb of  Calvary is not in him.

The one coming for healing has a real definite part  to do in his coming to the Great Physician.

The disciples must needs come to land ere they  could be warmed at the fire which Jesus had kindled  or partake of the fish which He had broiled. They  must needs leave their ship, come to shore and draw  near to Jesus before they could receive the bounties  from His hand. You, too, must come out of the ship  in which you have gone “a-fishing” for worldly joys  and gains; toiling through the night and catching  nothing. Let down your nets on the right side,  prove the bounty of His goodness, love and power,  then jump overboard, like Peter, when his Master  bade him, “Come and dine.”

The prodigal son must needs come home be-  fore he could receive the kiss of reconciliation, the  ring, the best robe, and shoes for his weary wander-  ing feet. The father could not carry the best robe  to his son when he sat among the swine, eating the  husks which they did eat. The father could not meet

the son on the ground of his prodigality ; the son

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must needs return to his father ‘s home and meet him  on his own just and righteous ground. Besides, the  best robe would soon have been soiled and be-  smirched and have brought discredit to his father’s  name had he worn it in the midst of his revelling and  merry-making.

Just so, if you want to be made whole, receive the  best robe and gifts the Heavenly Father has to give  salvation, heal’ng, and the baptism of the Holy  Spirit through the Lord Jesus Christ, you, too, must  do your part, leave the land of sin and back-sliding,  your soul is sick of it all anyway, and say, “I  will arise and go.” Come crying, ” Father, I have  sinned against Heaven and, in Thy sight.” Through  the mist of penitent tears you will surely see the  Father running to meet you, with clothing, with food  and with gladness. Just as the ring which the father  gave the son had no ending but was a complete circle,  so the love, promises and provision of Christ are un-  ending, for He is the same today as He was yesterday  and will be evermore.

Naainan must needs dip seven times in the Jor-  dan before he was cleansed of his leprosy. He had  his part to do in obedience and humility. Had  Naaman failed to do his part, God could not have  done His and he would have gone away uncleansed.  Naaman did not go part of the way to the Jordan but  all the way; he dipped not three or four, but seven  times. If he dipped the first two or three times with  the thought of a “treatment” in his mind, the  thought was surely washed away ere he went down  the seventh time in obedience and faith, for he came  up every whit whole.

Many come for healing today just like Naaman

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went to Elisha. They think they can sit outside in  their chariot or automobile and have God’s servant  run out and heal them. No, no ! Rich or poor, bond  or free, all must go the same humble road to the Jor-  dan. ‘Tis not the servant but the Master who has  the power.

The Important Work of Preparation

The importance of the work of preparation cannot  be spoken of too highly or be too greatly empha-  sized.

People who come blindly, rushing into the meet-  ings, saying that they have heard “there is a miracle  woman here who can heal them at once” and that  they want to be “treated” at once so they can catch  the next train for business and pleasure are quickly  disillusioned. First of all they are informed that  there is no “miracle woman” here at all, only a  simple little body whom the Lord has called from a  milk-pail on a Canadian farm, bidding her tell the  good news of a Saviour who lives and loves and an-  swers prayers.

Then they are bidden to settle themselves down  and take part in the meetings just as though they  were going to “Mayo Bros.” or any great hospital  for an operation and were preparing for it for days,  obeying each order so they are bidden to prepare  their house before coming into the presence of Jesus,  the Great Physician. They are reminded that if they  rush into a hospital, dirty and dusty and travel  stained, demanding that a serious major operation

should be performed that instant in order that they

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might catch the next train for home, the doctors  would explain to them that they were in no condition  to go to the table as they were, lest infection should  set in and their latter condition be more serious than  the former.

How clean and purged their system would be be-  fore going to the operating table ! Then, how clean  and pure their hearts and lives must be, before com-  ing to ask the sacred and holy touch of Christ upon  their mortal body.

How clean the nurse would bathe them how  sterile and white the robe she would dress them in  before they were wheeled to the operating table !  How pure then they must be spiritually washed in  the blood of Jesus, and clad in the white robes oJ  righteousness, beneath which heart and life and soul  are made pleasing in His sight before coming for  healing.

The results of this preparation are self-evident.  They are wonderful. Cancers have disappeared  fibroid tumors have melted like snow before the sun  goitres have gone down like a toy balloon that is  punctured stiff limbs have been made to bend-  blind eyes recovered sight deaf ears have been un-  stopped and dumb lips have been opened withered  arms have come to life and grown several inches in  an hour.

Are you a real Christian, a follower of the Lamb ?  Have you been born again? Are you taking up your  cross daily, denying yourself and following after  Him ? Is your life counting for God and souls ? Even  when the wires of heavenly connection are up, you  should inspect them carefully before coming for heal-  ing ; it takes only a little bit of paper in the electric

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light socket to keep the light from shining. It only  takes a little doubt, hardness, back-biting, criticism,  unforgiveness of spirit, disobedience or grudge to  hinder the blessed power of God from flowing into  that life of yours. It is a very sacred tiling to ask  the divine touch of Jesus upon these mortal bodies  of ours. There is no question as to the power being  in the storehouse or as to our electric light bulb  needing the power, but oh, make sure of the connec-  tion!

“Yes, yes,” I hear someone cry, “I see that I  have a real part to fill if I would receive my healing  but it has been so many years since I went to church  or have taken any real interest in religion, just what  must I do to be healed? ”

Brother, Sister, dear, I trust that the first step you  will take will be to fall so in love with Jesus, the  Crucified, that the healing of your body will be a  secondary consideration. Seek first the kingdom of  God, and His righteousness ; and all these things shall  be added unto you. Come to the altar, get down on  your knees today, repent of your sins, turn to the  Lord and seek salvation.

“Oh, Sister, not at that altar!” someone exclaims,  “not here where I am so well known! People will  talk about it so. I can pray better in my own room

by my own bedside, I am quite sure.”

Why, that is just what Naaman said: “Are not  the rivers of Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus,  better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash  in them and be clean?” Yet none other than those  lowly, humble, despised waters brought healing to  the leper. You have tried your own way and gotten  but deeper into sorrow; why not come God’s way,  Forty-eight

the way of the humble and lowly Nazarene who hung  on the cross for you ? Repent of your sin with a god-  ly sorrow for sin; do not glaze over the surface but  go to the depths.

”Seek ye My Face” calls the Saviour. Oh, let  your heart answer, “Thy face, Lord will I seek.”  Hear the Master sweetly say, “Draw near unto Me  and I will draw near unto you.”

Why, He is running to meet you already with wide  open arms. “Poor weary sin-sick child,” He is say-  ing, “you have been wandering such a long, long  time ; you have been torn by the thorns and bruised  by the jagged rocks ; none other has been able to fill  the hungry longing of your heart ; come closer to me,  child. Turn your back upon the world with its bit-  terness and sin ; come closer to my wounded side and  lay your head upon my breast; I will pardon your  back-slidings, I will forgive you freely ; a clean heart  will I give thee and a new spirit will I create within  you. Your sins will I cast into the sea of My for-  getfulness and remember them against you never-  more ; your cup will I fill to overflowing with the joy  of salvation and your head will I anoint with the oil  of gladness. Seek ye my face, dear child, let me be

thine all and in all.”

Glory to Jesus! When you get there, dear heart,  the healing of your body will be but a secondary  thought.

“Since mine eyes were fixed on Jesus,

I’ve lost sight of all beside

So enchained my spirit’s vision,

Gazing at the crucified.”

‘Tis not money, nor arrogance, nor even “hope”  Forty-nine

that makes them clean and white, but implicit faith,  humility and obedience unto the voice of the Lord.

The railroad 1 track must needs be laid, every  tie in place, every rail fastened and the last spike  driven before the great transcontinental express can  go through. It takes a great deal longer to lay the  track than for the express to pass by.

In coming for healing, make sure of the condition  of the track; you are inviting the express of God’s  unlimited power to come over. Remember that in  making railroads, the hills must be laid low, the val-  leys exalted; pride must flow down before Him and  the rough places be made smooth. Do not spend so  much time worrying and scolding because the train  does not come more quickly. You care for the track,  God will take care of the train.

Take the electric light, for instance. It is not  enough to have an electric light bulb in your  possession the wires must be strung and connec-  tions properly made clear back to the power house  before the light can shine in your home.

Just so, it is not enough for you to say, “I have  a body that needs healing and I know that the Lord  has the power to make me whole.” That is like say-  ing, “I have an electric light bulb in my hand and  I know there is enough current in the power house  to make it a shining light ; but what about the wires

and connections between?”

Selfish motives are gone and you are now drawing  nearer every moment to the Great Physician who has  power to heal the sick. The all-absorbing love for  your new-found Christ and the over-whelming desire  to be pleasing in His sight and win jewels for His  crown has taken the place of selfishness.

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“And does this hinder one from seeking physical  healing,” you ask, “seeing that our eyes have been  taken off our own suffering and fixed upon Christ?”  Ah, no! It will help you a thousand miles along  the way; for, instead of asking healing for a selfish  motive only, one now seeks life and strength that  he may the more fully and gladly serve, and win  other souls for this adorable Christ of Calvary.

The conflict is over, the battle ended. There is a  “nevertheless not my will but Thine be done” in the  soul. “Dear Jesus, if You want me to go to heaven,  I thank Thee that I know it is well with my soul ;  but if, oh Lord, it is Thy will to spare me on this  earth, I pray that I may have the strength and  health, the power and wisdom to win my family and  others for Thee, dear Saviour, and to be a shining

light unto those who sit in darkness.”

If it is His good will to take one of the children  home Amen ! If not, bless the Lord, you can touch  the hem of the Master’s robe and have healing and  strength for His service today even as did they who  lived when Jesus walked this earth. But whatsoever  you do, whether you eat or drink, or seek healing  and strength, be sure that you do all for the glory  of God. You can then look up as you come to the  altar and, lifting your hands toward heaven, say :

“My body, soul and spirit

Jesus, I give to Thee,

A consecrated offering

Thine evermore to be.

My all is on the altar

I’ll take it back no more

Never, never, never,

I’ll take it back no more,

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Those Old-Time Grudges “Then remember, if  thou bringest thy gift to the altar and there remem-  berest that thy brother hath aught against thee ;  leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ;  first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and

offer thy gift.”

And when you stand praying forgive make those  old-time grudges right. Go make it right with that  one you have not spoken to for so long. Ask wife to  forgive the harsh words that have so often made the  tears spring into her eyes; forgive that enemy the  injury you could never forgive before, else how can  you pray: “Forgive us this day our trespasses as  we forgive those that trespass against us”?

“But what has all this to do with my receiving  healing?” you ask. “I thought that all I had to do  was to walk right up on that platform, be prayed for,  and healed without further obligation on my part.

What has all this to do with it anyway?”

“Why don’t you see, this is the stringing of the  electric light wires between the bulb and the power  house and the making sure of the proper connec-  tions. This is the laying of the track across the  desert wastes or tunnelling through the mountains  and making straight paths for His feet, that the  mighty express of God’s glory and power may pass  through.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous-  ness and all else shall be added unto you. Put first  things first. Spend time in prayer. Read your Bible  carefully, prayerfully, more especially Matthew,  Mark, Luke, John and the Acts of the Apostles, with  reference to those whom Jesus healed in His own and  the apostles’ day, and see what part they had to do  Fifty -two

in obeying His command and in having active faith.  Establish family worship in your home. Do not  wait till you are here but begin to serve Jesus even  now ; till joy and peace are flooding your heart ; faith  is rising mountain high and you have “prayed  through ” and gotten the witness; every wire is in  place between the bulb and the power house and you  are ready for the hand of prayer to turn the switch  and let the current of God’s power flow through.

Jesus

The next and greatest one concerned in your heal-  ing is, of course, the One to whom you are coming  for healing Jesus. Has He the power to heal? Is  He willing to do so, and will He do His part?

Yes, beyond a doubt He has the same power today  as He had in the olden days. His promises are still  yea and Amen to everyone that believeth. When the  leper in the Bible days said : ” If thou wilt, thou canst  make me clean,” and his healing depended upon the  “willingness of Jesus’ ‘; the Master without hesita-  tion said: “I will; be thou made clean.” There is  no doubt as to His willingness, if we only have the  faith and ask for His glory.

As for Jesus “doing His part,” Brother, Sister, it  was already done when He purchased our healing at  the cruel whipping post almost nineteen hundred  years ago that “by His stripes” we might be healed,  for “Himself took our infirmities and bear our sick-  nesses,” Matt. 8:17.

Just as in Salvation Christ has done His part in  the finished work of Calvary and awaits our coming

to the cross in faith to accept and make this great

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redemption ours, so with divine healing, the Great  Physician, the Son of Righteousness with healing in  His wing has done His part, bearing the cruel lash,  carrying our pain and suffering, smitten of God and  afflicted as our burden-bearer, bore not only our sins  but that dire result of sin sickness and pain with  Isaiah we can cry exultingly : “He was wounded  for our transgressions . . . and by His stripes

we are healed.”

Indeed He will do His part. Draw near to Him  and He will draw nigh unto you; reach out your  hands in faith and touch the blessed hem of His gar-  ment and He will bend low over you. You will feel  the gentle pressure of His nail-pierced hand laid in  healing and benediction upon your head. Jesus the  same yesterday, today and forever. He who heard  the cry of His people in times gone past is just the  same today. His ear has not grown heavy that He  cannot hear nor has His arm been shortened that it  cannot save.

The One Who Prays for You

The third party concerned in your healing tonight  is the one who is going to anoint you with oil, accord-  ing to James 5 :14 and pray with you that you may  be made whole. Just what and how important a  part does this one who prays for the sick take?

The first duty of the one who is instrumental in  praying for the sick is the duty which Christ laid  upon His disciples, John 18 .40, namely that of bring-  ing the man near unto Him. You remember how the  blind man cried : i i Thou son of David have mercy  on me.” He had faith, he had prayed through and  reached the ear of the Master.

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He had done his part

Jesus was ready to do His part

But a blessed duty or part in the healing was  granted unto the disciples when Jesus commanded  them to bring the man near unto Him.

First then lift up Jesus from the earth; talk of  His power; magnify His name.

Many there are who take so much time telling of  that which Jesus cannot do that they spend very lit-  tle time telling of the things which He can do.

Sow the seed of faith in the hearts of the people  and have faith yourself. They who pray for the  healing of the sick should themselves first be par-  takers of the fruit and be a living example of that  which they preach, having a sound, whole body, in-  vigorated by the strength and resurrection of the  life of Jesus.

Bring the sufferer near unto Christ in prayer, faith  and praise. Make Jesus so real through the preached  Word that your audience can see His blessed face  through the parting clouds and reach out their hands  to touch Him.

Secondly, it is the sacred duty of those who pray  for the sick to believe with the whole heart and have  the real touch of God upon them, the Holy Spirit  dwelling within and the authority of the Master

clothing them as the raiment of Elijah clothed Elisha,

Then, “let him ask in faith, nothing wavering, for  he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven  with the wind and tossed. Let not that man think  that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double  minded man is unstable in all his ways. ” Jas. 1 :5-8.

One can tell in a moment whether a preacher or  the one who is exhorting or praying has faith. Have  Fifty-five

you ever heard a man preach a long sermon and then  say, ‘ ‘ Now, IF there is ONE here tonight that wants  salvation, will you lift your hand and say, ‘pray for  me’?”

Why, right there his faith has wavered, he seldom  gets more than the “one” he asked for; whereas  the man of faith has won the day and cries : * ‘ Let  every sinner or backslider in this building lift up  your hand, high, and by that lifted hand say pray for  me, I am a sinner and want Salvation. You all need  Jesus, let everyone lift their hands and say so.”  Have you watched the hands go up ? And have you  seen the hundreds of penitents weeping their way to  the altars? Well, so it is in the prayer for the  sick. According to your faith shall it be done unto  you.

In a recent -meeting, where we had come to the  closing day and thousands were still waiting to be  prayed for, it became necessary for various groups,  composed of some twenty Ministers, to be called  upon to offer prayer for the healing of the afflicted.  Among the long lines of sufferers came a deaf man,  desiring prayer that his hearing might be restored.  A certain dear minister, who perhaps had never  before been called upon to pray for deaf ears to be  unstopped, began to talk to the Lord about His  power and willingness to hear the prayers of His  people. After a few moments he looked at the man  and, realizing that something definite should be  done, he leaned over inquiringly, brought his lips  close to the ear in question and asked :

“0 deaf ear, are you going to open?”

“Are you? right there he had wavered and let

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not that man that wavereth think that he shall ob-  tain anything from God ! With the unction and power  of the Holy Spirit upon him he should have com-  manded : ” deaf ear, in the name of the Lord  Jesus Christ, I command you to be opened and to  hear the Word of the Lord ! Thou deaf spirit come  out of him in the mighty Name of Jesus.” Ask in  faith, nothing wavering, and it shall be done  according to your faith.

Bid the one for whom you pray to have faith  also, reaching out and clasping the promise to hold  it tightly and it shall be his; whether healed in-  stantly or gradually, to believe from that very hour.

Thirdly, the one who prays for the sick should  have clean hands and a pure heart.

How many ministers you and I know who are  using tobacco. Throw it away, let your own heart  be cleansed with the precious blood, and your lips be  sweet and pure before you pray reverently the  prayer of faith. Could you imagine Jesus smoking  a big cigar and then going in to pray for the  afflicted?

Do not expect to spend your time telling or  listening to foolish, idle stories or gossip, or being  a good mixer in the club, and then rushing into  His presence to bring the power down. Keep close  to Jesus yourself. Keep the lamp of faith brightly  burning. Walk with God like Enoch of old till  your life is swallowed up in His own blessed will.  Let triumphant faith mount up and up till your own  face is all aglow and poor, weak, tempest-driven  souls shall see in you that mighty, unwavering con-  fidence and trust in God that will give new courage

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and guide them into the calm safe harbor of the  Saviour’s strength and blessing.

Do not feel, however, dear afflicted soul, that un-  less the preacher or elder who prays does his part  that you need necessarily go away without healing.  Many are healed in answer to their own prayers  while seated in the audience or whilst praying in  their homes. “Is any afflicted, let him pray.”  Even though you are alone, you can reach right up  where you are and claim the promise. It is only  natural, however, and perfectly scriptural, to want  someone to pray the prayer of faith for you and  hold up your hands in encouragement as you come  to God, for we also read: “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 : 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.”

Let us, therefore, do our part. Press in close to  the Master the Great Physician the Shepherd of  the sheep, who stands waiting with his cruse of oil  to make us whole in body, soul and spirit. Not a tear  so blinding, but Jesus can wipe it away. Not a hurt  so deep in the heart, but He can comfort and bless.  Not a body so weary, so weak and sick but His touch  can strengthen and heal. Not a load so heavy or a  burden so great but His love can lift and bear it  away.

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How to Receive Divine Healing

“Thy faith hath made thee whole.” “According  to thy faith be it done unto thee.” “Woman, great  is thy faith, be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. ”  These were the words of the Master when He trod  the shores of Galilee.

‘Twas faith that made the believer whole in  Bible days and ’tis faith that can reach up and  touch the hem of the Master’s seamless dress that  can make us whole today. For “verily if ye have  faith as a grain of mustard seed,” said Jesus, “ye  shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed to  yonder place and it shall remove ; and nothing shall  be impossible to you.”

In order to get this living, active, mountain-  moving faith in Jesus Christ, one must get on be-  lieving ground. Faith cometh by hearing, and  hearing the Word of God. To rightfully under-  stand and feed upon the Word, the heart must be  given to the Lord Jesus ; we must be washed in the  precious Blood, be born again and be no longer  children of darkness but children of light.

“Well, if the Lord heals me I’ll believe and be  converted” we hear someone say.

But, dear one, this is not the attitude in which  to come to the Great Physician Jesus. He did not  heal the sick under those conditions when He was  on earth. Healing was not received first and faith  afterwards ; but faith first and then healing, for He

said: “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” But to

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a sinful nation who seek a sign, no sign shall be  given; neither can one bargain with the Lord and  exchange service for healing. Many forget their  vows and promises to God after the answer has  come.

Be Born Again

Positively, the first thing to do is to be genuinely  born again not for the sake of being healed but  because of real heart conviction for sin and the  wooing, all-conquering love of Jesus Christ.

Many have been not a little surprised and filled  with questioning, when, in our meetings we have  made a complete surrender to Jesus, a change of  heart and a bright Salvation experience, among the  conditions under which we would ‘pray for the  healing of the sick and afflicted. But, you see, it  is Jesus and not ourselves unto whom the afflicted  must look for healing. It is unto Him that they  must pray.

Think for a moment how could a sinner pray to  the Lord for healing? If he were really honest, he  would have to pray something like this :

1 i Oh, Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I know you have  long been knocking at my heart’s door, and that I  have never been willing to let you in. Even now  I am unwilling to deny myself or to take up my  cross and follow Thee, but while I am not ready to  live for Thee nor to repent of the coldness and sin  that grieves Thy heart; and though I am rejecting  Thee and unwilling to do aught for Thee, I would  like you, please dear Lord, to do something for me.  Please heal my broken body, so that I may go out  to better enjoy the world; heal my eyes that I can

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the better see the moving pictures; open my deaf  ears that I may enjoy the devil’s jokes and gossip;  heal my crippled hands that I can play cards or  work for my own selfish ends ; my feet that I might  dance and run in worldly paths ! ‘ ‘-

Oh, no, those might not be the exact words ut-  tered by the petitioning sinner’s lips but ‘twould be  the language of the heart, would ‘nt it? And, after  all, it is upon the heart that the Lord looketh and it  does not seem possible that the Lord could 1 answer  that prayer for the honor and glory of His own dear  Name, does it?

Make an Out and Out Surrender

Give Him your heart freely and gladly ; drink  deep from the joyous wells of His Salvation till  your heart o’erflows with the rich fullness of His  love. Then come crying :

“Dear Jesus my Saviour and my Lord; Thy

Name do I worship and adore. By Thy Blood have  I been redeemed, my whole heart and life flows out  to Thee in gladness and surrender for service great  or small. Take me, and use me I pray.

“But, Oh, dear Lord this body is sick and frail.  I come to Thee for healing and strength that I may  serve Thee better and help lead souls from darkness  unto light. Heal my eyes that I may read the  blessed Book ; my ears that I may hear the preached  Word ; my hands that I may minister in loving deeds  to those in need; my feet that they may run to do  Thy bidding, Saviour dear. Humbly, I ask in faith  for Thine own glory. Dear Lord, I do believe and  take Thy promise now.”

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There is quite a difference in the heart language  of those two prayers, is there not? And it does  seem as though one could pray this latter prayer  with much more assurance and confidence.

Do not seek salvation for the sake of being healed ;  but after seeking and finding the Saviour, then come  for deliverance from sickness and pain that you  may henceforth live for Him who died for you.

Having read of the miracles of healing our Lord  hath wrought, people often rush into the meetings  frOm distant places, saying: “Pray for me quick,  Sister, I’ve got to catch a train or leave for home  tomorrow.” But they have not sat long under the  preaching of the Gospel till, when asked if they  feel that they are now ready to go to the altar for  prayer, they almost invariably reply, “Oh, no, let  me wait a day longer. I have a few more letters  to write asking forgiveness, a few more things to  make right, a couple more bills to pay, etc.” Bless  the Lord, the Spirit has been working in their hearts  and instead of rushing pell-mell without thought or  preparation into the most holy and righteous pres-  ence of the King of Kings, asking His pure nail-  pierced hands to be laid upon our sinful, selfish  bodies, they are coming now with clean hands and  a pure heart, entering humbly under the covering of  the precious blood.

Do Not Come on Your Own Merits

“But I have been such a wicked sinner,” some  other heart may cry. “My life has been wasted.  Would He ever hear my cry ? Would He save, heal

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and baptise me with His precious Holy Spirit? Am  I not too sinful, sick and broken of body and soul?”

Indeed He will hear your cry, dear one. He came  not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.  You are just the one that He will hear. When Jesus  walked this earth, none were too sinful for Him to  save ; none too sick for Him to heal.

And it has been a noticeable fact that the new  convert, filled with humility and a sense of his  own unworthiness, often receives healing much more  quickly than they who have been Christian workers  – for many years, and who now come of their own  merits, filled with a sense of their own goodness  and importance.

“Why, I am Mrs. So and So. I’ve done this,  that, and the other for the Lord for so many years,  I am sure that He will heal me.” But Oh, it is not  upon our own merits, righteousness or even service  that we can claim the promise, for all that we have  done, after all, is but our reasonable service. ‘Tis  the merits and righteousness of Jesus that we must  plead. Coming in humility, we find that indeed  when we are weak, then are we strong, for He re-  sisteth the proud but giveth grace unto the humble.

“Have you faith that Jesus will heal you now?”  we often ask the sick who come for prayer. In  dealing with old Christians, we frequently meet  the following complacent, self-satisfied answer in a  tone that would indicate that they almost resented  the fact that we felt the necessity of such a  question :

“Oh, my, yes! Why, I have always had faith.”

“How long have you been ill, Sister, and crippled

up in this wheel-chair ? ‘ ‘

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” About ten years/’

“And yet you say, in an offhand, assured way,  with a little wave of your hand, ‘Oh, yes, indeed,  I have always had faith,’ why don’t you see, my  dear, that if you really had faith that is, the in-  stantaneous mountain-moving faith for the fraction  of a second, the work would be done, and this  captive body would be free? Get out of that self-  satisfied, boastful complacency and in humility,  heart searching and earnest prayer draw near with

sincerity and unfeigned faith unto the Lord.”

The Difference Between “Passive” and

“Active” Faith

Having been converted, having made peace with  the brother, who had aught against thee, as far  as lieth in your power and having put your all upon  the altar in sacrifice, you are now coming to Christ  for healing.

Come with radiant, active faith; pray earnestly;  pray believing, nothing doubting and you will feel  His mighty hand upon your life. His power will  thrill through your being and the same Spirit that  raised up Jesus from the dead will quicken your  mortal body.

“Just what do you mean by ‘active’ faith? Is  there more than one kind of faith?” I hear someone  ask.

Yes, there is passive faith and active faith. There  is an instantaneous faith that takes the promise  now; there is a steady unwavering faith that can  stand the test and though the vision tarry, wait for  it, growing daily in strength as young trees grow  in stature.

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The one with “passive” faith says, “1 will be  prayed for and IP it is His will to heal me, I will  be restored to health,” but right there is an “if”  small in itself but a most mighty stumbling block  to faith.

Had the woman with the issue of blood sat by  the wayside saying, “Well, if it is His will to heal  me, I am willing. I will just sit here at ease and  if He happens to come to me and heal me, all right ;  if not, all right, but I will make no great effort  until He does,” do you think she would ever have  been made whole? It was her “active faith” that  pressed through the throng and touched the Master’s  robe that brought about her healing.

“Passive” faith just stands there and lets some  one else do all the praying ; hoping to be healed and  willing for it if it comes, but making no real effort  to reach out and take it by active faith. Hope,  however, is not faith, though many mistake the one  for the other.

An Example of the Difference Between the  Two

Let me tell you the true story of something which  happened in one of our meetings which exemplifies  the difference between “active” and “passive” faith.

During the great revival campaign in The Mem-  orial Hall, of Dayton, Ohio, the Lord had graciously  poured His Spirit upon us in a most marvelous way.  Thousands were seeking the -Lord as their Saviour,  Healer and Baptizer.

The Auditorium was packed, almost to suffocation.  The basement also was filled. Policemen and fire-  men were struggling with the multitudes who

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thronged the streets without* Well friends who  carried the sick who had been crowded out had, in  desperation, resorted to cutting out the basement  windows and passing in their afflicted on beds to  those within. From early morning until late at  night the throngs had continued to stand. And  now, within the building, on the great platform,  prayer was still being offered for the sick.

Many mighty healings were resulting. Deaf ears  were unstopped and the lame had been made to  leap for joy. As quickly as one row of supplicants  was prayed for, another would take its place. We  who were praying for the sick turned now to the  new row.

The first was a man with a stout walking stick  in his hand, whose limb was held painfully and  straight before him. The man appeared to have  absolutely no burden of prayer but was sitting up  straight in his chair, gazing about him with wide  open eyes, watching the workers and the people as  they came and went. I looked at him searchingly  with the thought which is ever uppermost in the  mind when praying for the sick. Has he faith,  active, mountain-moving faith? . I was afraid that  he had not.

Second in the line was a dear lady with a child  who was perhaps three or four years of age, seated  upon her lap. One arm was pressed tightly about  the child, the other was raised to heaven. Her lips  moved in audible prayer, tears flowed down her  cheeks. Her face no doubt as to faith there !

Addressing first the elderly man with the in-  expressive face and the open eyes, I asked:

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The Man with the Cane

“Well, Brother, dear, have you faith that Jesus  will heal you now?”

“Why, I certainly hope He will,” he made  answer.

“But, Brother, have you only a ‘hope so 7 faith?

No assurance from the Lord?”

“Why, why, I thought perhaps I could be healed;

I certainly hope so.”

“Just what is your greatest reason for desiring  healing, Brother?” I asked, trying another track.

“Why, to be rid of the pain, of course,” he

answered testily.

“But isn’t it even just a little bit so that you  could serve the Lord and work for Him with all  your heart and strength?” I persisted.

“W-w-ell, I suppose so,” he spoke hesitatingly,  without conviction, as though the thought were  foreign. The man had a hard, selfish face, and we  could not help wondering whether he had ever made  a real sacrifice for the Lord Jesus in his life.

There was nothing to do but to offer a prayer for  the man, of course. But, Oh, that living, vital faith  one so covets when praying for the afflicted seemed  to have been sinking away down out of sight and  all we could do, after we had prayed, was to turn  to the man and say: “According to your faith be  it done unto you.”

“Now, brother,” we tried to smile bright en-  couragement, “do you take the promise? Come !  rise to your feet in Jesus’ Name. If you but have

faith, you can walk from this platform straight

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and strong and every whit whole, leaving your cane  behind you.”

As I spoke I succeeded in getting him to his feet,  faith was springing up in my own heart and I had  the assurance that even now if he could but grasp  the promise he would be made whole.

“Come! Brother forget the cane, lean upon the

Lord, and walk in Jesus ‘ Name ! ‘ ‘

“Oh-h-h! But I couldn’t walk without the cane,  Sister! My limb has been sore so long/’ he cried in  a startled voice, without even trying to walk, and  taking a tighter grasp upon his cane.

We groaned within our spirits, and the man cling-  ing to the stick hobbled away. Only a moment,  however, could be spared in following him with a  regretful gaze. Hundreds of others were waiting  for prayer hundreds who would have real active  faith.

The Mother and the Paralyzed Child

Next in line was the mother with the little daugh-  ter who had been afflicted with infantile paralysis.

The mother’s lips were still moving in prayer as  with closed eyes and tear-stained cheeks she clasped  her child to her breast and rocked gently to and  fro with an intensity of emotion and faith that ap-  peared to be oblivious to all surroundings. Scarcely  the need to ask the question here

“Mother, dear, have you faith that Jesus will  heal the little darling now ? and make her walk and  run again?”

She opened eyes that were red with weeping but

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in which there glowed a light kindled by the taper

of faith and cried,

“Indeed, I have faith, Sister. I have prayed  through. I just know that it shall be done. This  paralysis must go. My child will walk in Jesus’

Name/’

Ah, what blessed faith had she ! Of such as she  it was that Jesus spake, saying, “I have not seen  such faith, no not in all Israel.” With every word  she had uttered we could feel our own faith mount-  ing ; no long prayer needed here ! The praying had  been done in advance.

“According to thy faith be it done unto thee. In  the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be thou made

whole !”

“Put the little darling down on her feet, mother  dear. Dry you tears and take your little girl by the  hand she will walk And she did, too, only  Mama went too slow, and the pretty little darling let  go the mother’s hand and ran and danced across  the platform, perfectly whole. What a novelty it  was to have that paralyzed side paralyzed no longer !  How grand to use that little foot ! She would run  a little, then stop short, lift up the foot, look at it  inquiringly and approvingly, then skip some more,  like a litle lamb gamboling in the field, then stop  again and turn the foot in all directions, gazing at  it delightedly ere she ran and danced some more.  The delighted audience laughed and shouted and  wept all in the same breath. The happy mother lifted  up her clasped hands and cried :

“Oh, Jesus! I just knew you’d do it! I

just knew it ! And Oh, I thank v Thee, Lord. I will

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give Thee my love, my strength, my all, and ever

bring her up in Thy paths, dear Saviour.”

Do you see the difference, dear one? Here was a  woman with active faith. She cried and the Lord  heard her and according to her faith did she receive.

Don’t Lose Faith if Healing not Instantaneous

Very often the Lord heals His children instan-  taneously and yet there are some who are healed  gradually and begin to mend from that hour.  Active faith is more necessary than ever here.

This was exemplified by our dear Sister Fraga, of  Dayton, Ohio, whom so many have learned to know  and love. She came to the meeting on crutches, she  was frightfully deformed with dislocated hips which  had been out of their sockets for years. When  prayed for she reached out to Jesus in simple, child-  like faith and said that she could feel the hips  snapping back into place. She let the crutches fall  from under her arms and declaring that she was  healed walked away something which she had not  been able to do before.

But though the hips were gradually going back  into the sockets, the body was still far from straight,  and w t e used to catch our breath when Mrs. Fraga  rose to testify (as she was wont to do at each tes-  timony meeting), and declare that she was healed.  Then, gradually, day by day, as this precious sister  turned her house into a home of prayer, brought her  husband to Jesus, prayed with sinners at the altar,  went out for miles to pray for and bring others to  the meetings, her lameness began to disappear.

We saw this dear Sister one year after she had

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been prayed for and she was as trim and as straight  as a girl. She was still ministering to the sick and  afflicted, walking for miles with perfect ease, for,  as she said, Only they who have been in trouble,  bound with braces of steel and leather, tortured by  crutches and pain, could ever fully sympathize and  yearn with such a full heart to succor those who  walk in the path of affliction.

Here again was active faith that stepped out on  the promise, even as Peter stepped out on the water  and walked to meet the Lord. She had held fast  through sunshine and tempest, believing that he who  had begun the good work was also able to perfect it.

Have Faith in God

Remember that faith is not always accompanied  by feeling. Faith is the substance of things hoped  for, the evidence of things not seen. Whether you are  healed instantly or gradually, hold fast to the prom-  ise. In the Bible we read of some who came to Jesus  that ‘ ‘ as they went they were healed. ‘ ‘ Just so today  there are some who see little visible indication of  healing at the moment they are prayed for. But  this is the very time to have faith and to hold fast.  If they should wait a moment or so, without feeling  any great surge of healing power and then walk

away with downcast face, saying

‘ ‘ Oh, I was prayed for a moment ago but I feel no  different I guess this is not for me” then, ac-  cording to their faith shall it be done. Remember,  faith is not feeling- and trust is not trace. Keep your  eyes on Jesus who is this very moment measuring  and testing the quantity and quality of your faith.

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Cling to the words of Isaiah “by His stripes we  are healed.” Lift your heart to Jesus and say, “By  thine own suffering at the whipping post, thou didst  bear my sickness and pain mine eyes are upon  Thee, dear Lord. By faith I lay hold upon the  promise. The work is completed in Thee complete

it now in me, Lord.”

Step Out Boldly upon the Promise

Pray through before you come to Christ for heal-  ing; then come with perfect faith in Jesus and His  power to heal. When you lay aside that cane or  those crutches, after prayer, do not put one foot  out hesitatingly and say:

“Um now I wonder if I could take a step on  that foot (!)(!)(?) M I wonder if I could bear  my weight on it? It’s been a pretty sore foot!

Now let’s see I’m going to try (?)”

No ! no ! that is not faith !

Do you suppose that Peter would ever have been  able to walk on the water to meet his Lord had he  put one foot rather dubiously on the wave and  said:

“Let’s see now I wonder if that water will bear  my weight? I know that the Lord bade me come,  but this water is pretty soft and I’m pretty heavy

but I ’11 try it and see (?) (?) ! !”

Why, no, he would have sunk iri a moment ; ’twas  faith that kept Peter up faith in Jesus ; as soon as  he got his eyes off the Christ and fixed them fear-  fully upon the tempestuous waves or circumstances  with which he was surrounded, he began to sink.

According to thy faith be it done unto thee. Do

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not fix your eyes upon your own condition or sur-  roundings. Fix your eyes on Jesus; have faith and  walk to meet Him in gladsome love and service, and  the answer will come.

Going Home to Heaven

“But supposing that it is not His -will to heal me?

Supposing He wants to take me home to heaven?”

Well Amen! that is a different matter: your  Coronation Day is at hand. Blessed are they that  die in the Lord.

Paul was in a strait between two as to whether  ’twere best to stay to serve and minister unto his  brethren or to depart, declaring that to be “absent  from the body is to be present with the Lord.” If  the Saviour has spoken to your heart and is calling  you home Hallelujah there is nothing to fear, if  your heart is washed in the blood of the Lamb. For  you death has lost its sting and the grave its vic-  tory. When thou passest through the waters, the  Lord will be with thee, and the waters shall not  o ‘erflow.

But we do believe that the Lord’s little children  do not need to die screaming with convulsions and  pain. We read of our fathers that “they fell  asleep.”

‘ ‘ Safe in the arms of Jesus,  Safe on His gentle breast ;  There by His love protected,

Sweetly my soul shall rest.”

If you have the blessed assurance that the Lord  is calling you to that golden shore, you will, of  course, be longing and ready to go; but if, on the

other hand, you still have years to spend below,

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there is work to be done. Thousands are perishing  in sin on every hand. You can be quickened and  healed and made every whit whole through Jesus’  mighty power, and can then go forth into service,  great or small, be it at home or abroad. You may  become a soul winner for the Master, that when

He calls you, you will not be “empty-handed.”

In gazing upon the sinner who has just given his  heart to Jesus and in his illness is very near the  other shore, this verse always comes to my mind :

“Must I go and empty handed,

Thus my dear Redeemer meet?

Bring no soul with which to greet Him,

Lay no trophies at His feet?”

How I covet at least a few months of service for  them that when the last summons comes they, too,

shall “come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.”

Oh, the multitude we have seen come to Jesus  for healing ! Our ears still ring with the glad shout  of the blind when they received their sight and  cried aloud: “Oh, I can see! I can see. Dear  people, dear Jesus, I can see again.” We still see  the overjoyed, almost rapt expression of those whose  deaf ears had been suddenly opened, so that they  have been liberated from a tomb of silence and  enabled to hear the songs of praise to Jesus and the  voices of their loved ones. Again we can see the  lame, leaping and fairly dancing for joy crutches,  braces and canes thrown away hear the testi-  monies of those whose cancers and tumors have  melted away.

Step into Bethesda’s pool by faith today, dear  heart, and thy faith shall make thee whole.

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How to Keep It

Having received your healing from the loving  hand of Jesus, the next thing is to KEEP IT.

“Oh! is there a possibility of my losing my heal-  ing after receiving it?” you ask.

“Is there a possibility of a discharged patient who  has just recovered from pneumonia going out into  the blasts of wintry winds and coming down with  double pneumonia so that his latter condition is  worse than the former?

“Is there a possibility of a sinner coming to this  altar for conversion, being washed in the blood of  Jesus and forgiven of his sin, going out into the  world among godless companions and forgetting

his vows to the Lord?”

“Why, yes, we hear of such things every day.”

“Then it is also possible for a man or woman to  receive the divine healing touch of Jesus Christ upon  their bodies and then to depart from His paths into  doubt, criticism and sin, and not only lose the heal-  ing but become more ill than before.”

Remember that Christ is The Vine we are the  branches. In healing, as in Salvation, we have no  separate life of our own. In Him we move and live  and have our being. Sever the branch from the  vine and it is bound to perish and wither away.

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Jesus said : ‘ ‘ Go thy way and sin no more LEST  A WORSE THING COME UPON THEE.”

The very hour in which your healing has begun,  look about you and begin to minister to those in  need. This new light and life and strength is not  given you for selfish purposes but to spend and be  spent in His service.

When Jesus touched the hand of Peter’s wife’s  mother, the fever left her and she rose and minis-  tered unto them. Will you not do the same? For  every bit of strength you give Him, He will repay  you an hundred-fold. Hallelujah!

Walk in the Spirit, spend much time in reading  His Word and seeking His face in prayer; but no  time in doubtful disputations.

Give not only of your love and service but of your  means to Jesus, also. A man came into one of the  meetings one time on crutches; he was on his way  to San Francisco, there to undergo a surgical opera-  tion upon his limb. The Lord graciously healed him  in answer to prayer. The man was overjoyed as he  hung his crutches upon a nearby post in the Taber-  nacle. His joy, however, was not only in that the  painful operation was no longer necessary but in  that he had saved $500.00. But oh, could he have  poured those $500.00 into the treasuries of the Lord  for foreign missionary work or the spreading of the  Gospel at home, how much more blessed a thank-  offering that would have been. In fact, this would  have been but his ” reasonable service.” That which  he gave above this would have been a thank-  offering. Give and it shall be given unto you, good  measure, heaped up and running over.

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Establish a family altar in your home. Keep the  light brightly burning. Begin today to win others  for Christ. Do not try to see how little but how  much you can do and give.

It is, I repeat, a very sacred thing to ask the  Divine touch of the Lord upon these mortal bodies,  and if we would keep our physical healing, we  should walk with the Master.

Through correspondence and through the Bridal  Call we have been enabled to keep in personal touch  with large numbers of those converted and healed  in the meetings. A great cloud of witnesses are  standing true after several years have elapsed and  are still permanently healed.

On the other hand, there are some who were  mightily touched by God who have lost their heal-  ing. Such an one was a young man in Illinois, whose  paralysis was healed instantaneously in answer to  prayer in a meeting held there in a Methodist  Church.

Delightedly he slung his crutches over his shoulder  and strode down the aisle, smiling broadly. From  the meeting he went to the back room of a worldly  place of amusement’ in which his old companions in  sin were playing a game of poker and gambling.  After having shown them how easily he could walk  without his crutches and having paced the room  several times with ease, he sat down at their in-  sistent urging, dealt the cards, procured his stack  of chips, played the game and gambled with them.

In the midst of the game, the numbness flowed  back into his limbs; the paralysis returned. He  not only lost his healing but was worse than before.

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GO THY WAY AND SIN NO MORE lest a worse  thing’ come upon thee.

The Lord did not promise His blessing and pro-  tection to the sinner and the scornful but promised  His blessing to “the man that walketh not in the  counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of  sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. His  delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law

doth he meditate day and night.”

To those who walk closely to Him and meditate  in His law (that is, read His Word, the Bible, and  think upon it earnestly), He promises, “and he shall  be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that  bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf also  shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall

prosper, ‘ ‘

But if instead of walking a holy, sober, God-  fearing life with Jesus, he goes back to his theatre,  dance hall, card party, seat of the scornful and sel-  fish life not lived for the glory of God; the branch  is severed from the true vine and this protection and  abounding life and strength is not promised unto  him, for “The ungodly are not so; but are like the  chaff which the wind driveth away * * * f or  the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous but the  way of the ungodly shall perish.”

I would not dare come to the altar, for anointing  and prayer for healing, unless solemnly from that  hour I pledged heart and life to do His bidding and  meant to walk in His blessed way.

Avoid foolish talking, idle conversation, gossip  and criticism. There is not a more deadly enemy to

the health of soul and body than an ungoverned

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Top. Healing Service, Balboa Park, San Diego Center.

icipal Auditorium, Denver Lower. Coliseum, St. Louis

tongue. “Pis as though one had pumped and pumped  water from the river into a great reservoir, for  life and irrigation purposes, and then foolishly  opened the gates of the sluice box and let it all run  back into the river again.

It is possible to talk, jest or criticize away, be-  tween meetings, all the strength, blessing and heal-  ing one has gained in meeting.

A society woman was one of the many to be healed  in Denver, Colorado. Her deaf ears had been in-  stantly unstopped in answer to prayer and she went  away rejoicing.

Some time later, however, she returned with all

the joy and light gone and complained to my Mother  that the healing had not been permanent and that  the deafness had gradually returned after a few  days.

The little Mother looked thoughtfully at the lady  a while, as she stood there, dressed in the height of  fashion, then questioned her as to how she had been  occupying her time since being prayed for.

“Why, just doing the ordinary things,” she re-  plied in a surprised tone, as though wondering what  that had to do with the subject.

“Such as what?” questioned Mother persistently.

“Just the duties entailed by my social standing.”

“Bridge parties, I presume?”

“Oh, certainly!”

“Theatres, parties, a ball, a new fashionable eve-  ning dress, a little gossip and exchanging of idle  nothings over the teacups?”

“Why, yes,” she admitted. “Just the usual

things

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But right there Mother had put her finger on the  reason for the woman losing her healing. It means  something to keep your healing.

Pray, read your Bible, spend and be spent in His  service, testify as to what He has done for you and  resist the enemy when he assails.

Testify

Testify at every possible opportunity as to what

the Lord has done for you. “They overcame by  the blood of the Lamb and the word of the testi-  mony,” we are told of those triumphantly sweeping  up the glory-way, in Revelation. Exalt the power  of the Lord Jesus. Give Him glory and praise for  what He has done.

Remember the ten lepers whom Jesus cleansed.  Only one came back to bear witness. The Lord  said: “Were not ten lepers cleansed, but where are  the nine?” Will you not be the one to return with  the testimony? You will find indeed that with each  note of victory that you sound forth, added strength  will be given you.

Resist Temptation

Do not imagine, for a moment, that the devil will  allow such a great victory as that which has been  wrought in your life to be accomplished without  resistence. Every inch of ground will be disputed.

He has several methods of attack.

One of his methods is to raise up unbelievers

about you who will try to sow the seed of doubt in

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the heart, just at the time when you stand most in  need of help and encouragement.

Another is to bring back the old symptoms and  twinges of pain, saying: “Aha! you thought you  were healed, didn’t you? But look at these waves  piling up on every side. You cannot walk upon  these waters much longer. Don’t you feel that

pain? Doesn’t that prove that you are not healed?”

But keep your eyes upon Jesus. Lift up your heart  and begin to praise the Lord, resist the devil and  he will flee from you. Do not let the enemy corner  you in Doubting Castle; keep out in the sunshine  of Jesus’ smile. Lift your voice in audible praise to  Jesus and prove indeed that the “joy of the Lord  is your strength.” Remember that all things are  possible to them that believe and that faith is the  master key which opens the door of every Promise  Castle of God’s Word.

Another ruse of the enemy is to take the eyes of  the Lord’s children from off the righteousness of  Jesus and the finished work of Calvary, and fix them  upon their own imperfections and blemishes.

A dear young lady was taken from a bed in which  she had lain suffering for a year and a half, follow-  ing seven abdominal operations. After consecrating  her life to Jesus, this beautiful girl (at that time  little more than skin and bones) was prayed for.  Jesus healed her of intestinal disorders and adhe-  sions. For months she walked in victory, enjoying  more liberty and real happiness than she had ever  known, for she had been afflicted since a child.

Then came the time when she was preparing to

attend a big revival meeting, in the very city in

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which her victory had been gained, there to give  her testimony.

Could the enemy allow this without a struggle?  No ! He came in like a flood with recurring symp-  toms of old-time pain; and when the dear Sister  lifted troubled eyes and asked why this had come,  the devil began to accuse her, declaring that she must  have done something wrong, failed somewhere, or  fallen into sin.

Ah, how cunning the enemy is ! Full well he  knows that if he can get our eyes from off the  righteousness of Jesus, and center them upon our  own unworthiness, we sink like Peter of old. Each  time her tender conscience would cringe and say :  “Oh! I must have sinned or have done something  wrong, though I do not know what it can be.” The  lash would fall again on her quivering spirit and  the clouds roll more thickly o’er her sky.

At. last she came to us about the subject, asking  that we would pray and inquire of the Lord wherein  the trouble lay. She stated that she had searched  her heart, read the Word and cried out to the Lord;  and that though she knew she must have sinned  terribly some way, somehow, she did not know  where the trouble lay.

In prayer the Lord showed me that the devil was  still the “accuser of the brethren,” today, as in  the days of old. Gathering the trembling little form  into my arms, I told her that it was the devil and  not the Lord that stood over her with the stinging  lash and the threatening, intimidating air, saying:  “Now, you bad girl you have sinned somewhere.

You have prayed and wept and done the best you

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knew but though I will not show you what it is, you

have done something wrong somewhere and must  suffer for it.” “Oh, darling,” I said, “does this  sound like the voice of Jesus ? No ! His voice is  loving and tender. When He speaks, He says :

” ‘Come, poor tired child, and lay your head upon  my breast. Let me enfold thee with my love and  wrap thee about with my presence and support. Gaze  upon me. Hearken unto my words till your soul is  filled with music and you are transformed into mine  own image.’

“Here you have been listening to the enemy all  this time. Every time you spoke, you put your  hand to your ear, bent closer to him and said :  ” ‘What did you say, devil? What’s that you say?’

“Oh, my dear, listen to him no more! Resist the  oppression of the evil one. Throw his yoke from  off your neck. He whom the Son sets free, is free

indeed ! Rise up and take your liberty.”

She saw the light through the clouds rose up in  victory the pain was gone the enemy fled like  vanquished shades of night before the rising sun  of the morning ; and she was free. The enemy had  come in like a flood ; but the Lord had raised up a  standard against him.

She attended the revival, became an active winner  of souls and by her testimony reached the hearts  and ears of thousands.

Hold Fast to the Promise

Hold fast to the promise, seeking His glory. “He

will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that

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keepeth thee will not slumber.” Ps. 121:3. “But  thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is  stayed on thee.” Isa. 26:3. If you hold fast to  Him, He will hold fast to you, for He has promised  that: “Because thou hast kept the word of my  patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of  temptation, which shall come upon all the world to  try them that dwell upon the earth. ” Rev. 3 :10.

“And now unto Him that is able to keep you from  falling, and to preserve you faultless before the  presence of His glory with exceeding joy, the only  wise God, our Saviour, be glory and majesty, domin-  ion and power, both now and forever, Amen.”  Jude 24-25.

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Questions Frequently Asked Regard-  ing Divine Healing

What is Divine Healing?

It is the divine power of Jesus Christ to heal the  sick and the afflicted in answer to the prayers of  His people, without the aid of medicine or surgery,  even as He did almost 1900 years ago when He  walked upon this earth.

Is It For Today?

Many of God’s dear children have the mistaken  idea that the day of miracles is past, and the Lord  Jesus no longer heals the sick. They have honestly  believed, and some have even preached that these  things were only for ” Bible days”; that Christ has  now withdrawn this power, (which they say was  only given for a sign unto the Jews) and that we  now must do the best we can for these human bodies,  looking for help from doctors, surgeons, medicines,  herbs, massage, morphine, quacks, in fact, to any-  body or anything except unto the Lord Jesus Christ,  who is now either no longer willing or is too far  away to be troubled by such minor matters as the  healing of the physical infirmities of His people.

But there is not one verse or passage in the dear  old Bible to substantiate such a teaching. Not only  were the sick healed in the Old Testament by looking  to the Christ who was to come; and not only did  Jesus heal the sick when He walked this earth, but

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He left explicit instructions with His disciples and  followers that they, too, were to declare the good  news of healing for the body as they preached the  Gospel: “Into whatsoever city or town ye enter,  preach the Gospel and heal the sick that are  therein. 7 ‘ “And He said unto them, Go ye into  all the world, and preach the Gospel to every crea-  ture. He that believeth and is baptized shall be  saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In  my name shall they cast out devils ; they shall speak  with new tongues ; They shall take up serpents ; and  if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt  them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they  shall recover.” Mark 16:15-18.

The disciples prayed for the healing of the sick,  throughout their entire ministry; and in closing  left instructions for the church to the effect that if  there were any sick among them, they were to call  for the elders of the church, saying, “Let them pray  over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the  Lord : 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. Confess  your faults one to another, and pray for one another,  that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer  of a righteous man availeth much.” Jas. 5:14-16.

There are hundreds of promises as to the con-  tinued power and unchangeableness of Jesus, the  same yesterday, today and forever ; as to the abiding  power of His Word and assurance that no good gift  is to be withheld from them that walked uprightly:

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but never a hint that His arm was to be shortened  or His power no longer available for the healing of  the sick, with the passing away of the apostles.

Beyond a doubt divine healing is for today. If

we preach the same gospel of power that Peter  preached, Acts 5 : we can see the same signs and  wonders attending the preached Word. If we preach  the same miracle-working Jesus whom Philip  preached, in Acts 8: the multitudes will still be  made to wonder and believe, beholding the miracles  which are wrought. If we are endued with the  same spirit of power which filled Paul on the Isle  of Melita, Acts 28 : we will still see sinners turning  to Christ and the sick healed even as did this man of  God. The same resultant signs and wonders shall  attend our ministry.

The Word of God, therefore, whilst lifting our hope  mountain-high, through reading of the power of  Jesus to heal the bodies, as well as the souls of His  people, gives us no occasion to teach that this power  was but a transitory, flitting ray of sunshine, shining  for a moment through the gloom and then departing,  leaving us in greater darkness than as though we  had not seen the light. Whilst the Bible gives every  encouragement of healing through Jesus, Isa 53 ;  Ps. 103; Matt. 8:18; Mark 16′:18; Jas. 5:14, etc.,  there is not a verse of scripture which would indi-  cate that Christ had now closed this door of hope  and healing for suffering bodies to the knockings of  His children.

The reason that so many have tried to hide be-  hind Paul’s ” thorn in the flesh” (though they have

never been able to quite decide just what it was

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and although the conjecture runs all the way from  poor eyesight or stammering utterance to an un-  believing wife) is that they feel some explanation  should be made for the lack of this power in the  church today. Ministers have sometimes sat up all  night during our meetings searching the Bible and  reading between the lines, in the hope of finding  some verse or passage suggesting that divine healing  had been done away with, thus forming an alibi  and explaining to their flock the failure to teach  this truth or to pray for the healing of the sick.

What is the Difference Between Divine  Healing and Christian Science?

Christian Science teaches that there is no sin and  no sickness ; that such thoughts are error and that  all that is needed is the power of mind over matter  to overcome. Their foundation for this statement is  based upon the Scripture which tells us that without  God nothing was made that was made ; that God saw  everything that He had made and behold it was very  good. Whereas, they say, there was nothing made  except that which God made ; and whereas, He made  neither sin nor sickness, there is, therefore, no such  thing as sin or sickness. Train your mind to be-  lieve this, disregard sickness and pain, exert your  mind to correct this error and all is well.

This, however, is not the teaching of the Bible. Sin  and sickness were brought into the world through  the fall, when Satan entered the garden of Eden, in

the form of a serpent, deceived Eve, and brought in,

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through disobedience to God, the curse of sin, suf-  fering, thorns and thistles.

The Bible teaches us that there is not only such  a thing as sin, but that it is exceedingly sinful and  that no amount of correct thinking or turning over  of new leaves or cultivation of self -righteousness can  cleanse us from its stain. We are told that there  is but one remission of sin and that that is the shed  blood of Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten of the  Father.

The Bible tells us that there is such a thing as  sickness and that “Himself (Jesus) took our in-  firmities and bear our sicknesses.” In making pro-  vision for our healing and deliverance, the Word of  God does not tell us to “call in a practitioner” who  will help us concentrate the power of mind over  matter by telling us that we are not sick and that  there i s no such thing as sickness or pain, then  charges for treatment, but said: “If there are any  sick among you, let them call for the elders of the  church and let them pray over him, anointing with  oil in the name of the Lord, 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,”

Will Turning to Medical Aid Keep Me From  Heaven?

No, it is sin that bars us out of heaven. Divine  healing is not a law ; it is a blessed privilege.

Divine healing is like a beautiful flowing well of  cool crystal water on a hot and dusty day. You do

not have to drink it you can drink the brackish

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water of the pond or go thirsty if you would rather.  But the well is right here and the water is cool,  refreshing and free, and here is the dipper of be-  lieving prayer with which to draw, hanging right  by the well.

Divine healing is like a beautiful shade tree in a  weary land or an oasis in the wilderness. There is  no law forbidding you to walk in the broiling sun  at noonday but ’tis your privilege to rest beneath  the shadow and healing wings of the Almighty.  Thousands who have found the arm of flesh to fail  them have now come to lean hard upon Jesus as  their All and in All for body, soul and spirit.

Coming to Christ for divine healing is* like taking  your watch to a watchmaker for repairs. You could  take it to a blacksmith, of course, or to an automobile  mechanic, and they might clumsily do their very  best for you, but after all, ‘twould only be a second  best and you have the privilege of taking the watch,  with its delicate mechanism, to the very one that  made it and knows just how to repair it.

When we bought our automobile, a salesman  kindly said to us: “Now any time your car needs  fixing up or servicing, we will be glad to have you  come right in, we will fix it free of charge, this is  our own make of car, we understand it thoroughly  and our system of service is included for a certain  length of time without any additional cost to you.”  Now, of course, there was no law to hinder our  taking the car to some other garage, where we would  pay a large sum for service and perhaps find a  mechanic who knew more about a Ford than he did

about the mechanism of an Oldsmobile. But a few

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weeks later, when some adjustments were needed,  we were glad to avail ourselves of the privilege of  going freely to the people who had made the car and  having it there adjusted and made perfectly fit  again.

So it is with our blessed Lord. It is He that made  us and not we ourselves. If you would prefer an  earthly physician to the Great Physician, or feel  that you could trust him more, then go to him. But  it is your blessed privilege to come to the Lord who  made us, who understands our frame and knows  just how to heal us without pain or suffering.

What is Your Attitude Toward the Medical  Fraternity ?

“Do you fight the doctors?” we are sometimes  asked. Not at all; some of our most blessed  Christian friends and brethren are in the medical  profession, but the very best of them have told us  that they could only do “just so much” with their  powders and pills and that the Lord must do the  rest. Though they may be clever with their scapular  and knife, there comes a day when they must say:  “I can do no more, you will have to look to a higher  power. Only God can help you now.” “We have  known doctors who have much more confidence in  God than in their medicines and who kneel and  pray with their patients, seeing Christ conquer where  they have failed.

The one is natural the other supernatural.

The one is of man the other is of God who made  heaven and earth and all that in them is.

The laws of our country have made it almost im-

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possible for one to die without medical advice being  called in that a death certificate may be given. AVe  sometimes hear in reproachful terms: “Oh, ‘there’s  Mr. So and So. He trusted the Lord, refused medical  aid and lay right there and died.” But do you  know that with all due courtesy to the medical pro-  fession, dying a natural death is not such a terrible  thing after all when compared with the suffering  which we have seen people endure under surgical  and medical treatment.

Surely doctors should be the last ones to oppose  the power of Christ to heal the sick. Blind people  have come into our meetings whose eyes had been  put out through the mistake of a physician who  dropped some acid into the eye instead of eyewater.  One man, in Dallas, Texas, declared that while he  cried aloud with almost unendurable agony, his eye  had bulged from his head (after the mistake had  been made) and bursted; the other went out from  sympathy.

A lady in Colorado groped her blind way to the  front and told a similar story. She had suffered  from weak eyes and went for treatment. By some  mistake the physician put something into her eyes  that burned like* liquid fire and in five minutes, she  said, the sight was gone. The liquid had eaten  right through the lens and into the pupil before it  could be gotten out.

We have met people who suffered agony, in whose  abdomen a roll of antiseptic gauze had been sewed  up by mistake. No. I do not think the medical pro-  fession, with all their splendid hospitals and sani-  tariums, should oppose healing through prayer to

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the blessed Lord Jesus. I never heard of Him  making a mistake such as these just mentioned, did  you?

A man in San Jose, California, came into the  meetings for prayer, whose toes had all been ampu-  tated because of gangrene which had set in as a  result of putting ‘ ‘ G I ‘ ‘ a much advertised reme-  dy, on a corn. And Oh, the number of dope victims  who have wept and mourned at our altars with shat-  tered nerves and broken bodies, having become drug  addicts through having taken constant hypodermic  injections, during an illness following operation.  Doctors were now unable to break the chains or,  outside of drugs, give their patients rest and sleep  without which they would go insane. But bless the  Lord, Jesus broke the fetter and set them free.

Splendid physicians and surgeons have sat with  us on the platform in our meetings, have brought  patients for prayer, and written letters praising  God that He had accomplished that which their skill  and power could not do.

Doctors, hospitals and sanitariums, ‘with their  wonderful facilities, are just the thing for those  who have need of them or have not the living faith  in Jesus’ power to make them whole. But we.  who believe, do claim the God-given privilege of  praying to our Lord for healing, thus escaping the  knife and the pain.

Then, too, there are so many for whom the doctors  can do no more or who are too poor to afford  specialists and tremendous doctor bills. Take, for  instance, Mrs. Sisson’s little baby that was healed  of two hundred sores.

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Baby Sisson Healed of Two Hundred Sores

This sick little baby was brought in the arms of  its mother at the close of service, in Denver, Colo-  rado. She had braved the crowds for hours, with  this tiny, pale, and wasted mite of humanity clasped  to her breast. Her own face, white and haggard,  plainly bespoke her anxiety and suffering for the  little one. At last she had almost reached the steps  but there a large tightly packed crowd were even  yet between herself and the platform.

“Oh, God,’ 7 she whispered, “if I can only get  my baby through ! If the sister can only take my  baby in her arms and breathe one prayer, I KNOW  he would be healed of this terrible affliction ! Oh,

God Oh, God!”

As we turned to leave  the platform after hours  and hours of steady prayer  (expecting to go into an-  other room, where the  crippled and bed-ridden  were waiting us), our eyes  were irresistibly drawn to  those of that dear mother.  Dark and troubled, framed  in a brave white face, they  flashed their message. But  how could we stop now !  there were thousands of

others who were also wait-

| Mrs. Sisson Returns to Testify

Then it was that with the instinctive appeal of

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one mother heart to another, she unfolded the baby  from her breast, lifted it high above the heads of  the people and held it out to us. Involuntarily, our  mother arms shot out to take it. The crowd parted  to let her through, and the child was in our arms.

“Just what is this disease, mother dear? and  don ? t cry so hard ! Jesus will heal the little  lambie,” we encouraged.

“Sister, it is virulent eczema, had it ever since  he was four weeks old as many as two hundred  sores have eaten their way into that little form at  one time. Every time I dress baby, the blood runs  from the little body. . And, Oh sister, he is so brave-  he tries so hard not to cry,” she choked, “just

holds his breath and shudders.”

“There, there, mother dear. Forget that frightful  nightmare of seeing baby suffer what you would  have borne for him a thousand times if you could.

Jesus bore that pain for you and baby, too, dear.

He will help you.”

“Oh, I know it! I know it! I know He will-  just now.”

Anointing the baby with oil, we pressed it close  and prayed earnestly, returning it to the young  mother as she dried her tears and the sunshine of  her smile suddenly revealed the beauty of her face  before these months of sleeplessness and suffering  had blanched her cheeks.

She took her baby and departed, but returned a  few days later to testify at a mammoth children’s  service. She declared that her baby was well and,  indeed, its flesh looked perfectly whole.

Pressed on every hand that morning with some

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5,000 children, sick and well, we could not stop to  question her. But the next morning, waking early,  the writer jumped up and into her automobile (a  beautiful Oldsmobile Sedan which the Denver Olds  Company had loaned her during the revival) and  went in search of the little mother to hear the rest  of the story.

Out and out we went, beyond the suburbs of the  city, and then over some very bumpy roads to  Downing in search of our number.

“Why, that must be it over there/’ we puzzled,  “and yet it’s so tiny is it a house at all?” The  weest, little doll-house of a place, it was, about as  big as one ordinary room. But it wore a fresh green  coat of paint, and a humble little window box made  from four boards, in which struggled some tiny  plants. “Why, I believe it’s the smallest, humblest  and yet, the neatest, little house in Denver!” we  exclaimed. .

Suddenly, having heard the motor and auto horn,  Mrs. Sisson is at the door, the baby in her arms.

How she loves that frail, little life ! In a moment

she is at the car.

“Oh, sister! I am so happy! I’m singing all the  day long. My baby is all well. Instead of some 200  sores ranging from the size of a pin head to large  open holes, my baby’s flesh is sound and whole.

“When I came home from meeting, he slept like  a top. No itching or burning at all ! When I gave  him his bath the next morning, I found that every  sore except four of the deepest ones had disap-  peared, and this morning, in the baby’s bath-tub,  the last scab of the last four sores fell off and Oh !

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My baby is well ! Thank God ! thank God ! Christ

has visited our little home.”

“Little’ 7 home, indeed! It was little more than  a sweet bird’s nest. These dear people must be  very poor, and struggling hard. What this must  mean to them why this is the very home of all  others Christ would have surely visited in Denver,  we mused. And surely He had visited it, this blessed  man of Galilee, surely His own dear feet had crossed  the threshold of that door, bringing Balm of Gilead  to a fevered, tossing babe and a mother’s bleeding  heart, and lighted the lamp of salvation and blessing  on the altar of that home.

“Yes,” she replied to our question, “I took him  to Dr. – and he did the best he could for baby,  but finally told me that he had grown so bad I  would have to take him to a specialist in the city  and have each sore treated every day. But (here  a brave, twisted little smile told the struggle) but  husband is only a substitute in the post-office, you  know. Some weeks he brings home ten dollars;  sometimes ten dollars in two weeks. It takes some  planning to keep soul and body together and clothes  and doctor bills. So even though baby bled and  suffered so cruelly each time I changed or bathed  him, I couldn’t afford the specialist, but walked the  floor and wept.

1 1 Then one day came the ‘ray of light ! We had  heard of a revival meeting being held in town, but  did not give it much thought, until word came that  Jesus was healing the sick today just as He did in  olden days.

“Here was my door of hope, for if it was true

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that Jesus still healed the sick, I had found a  1 Specialist’ to whom I could take my baby free of  charge. Had He not said: ‘Suffer the little children  to come ‘ ? Was not this salvation and healing with-  out money and without price?

“That day I just dressed and wrapped up my  poor baby and went, the rest you know. Only  look, sister, see how his little arms are filling out !  He is eating everything, and putting on weight Oh,

I’m so happy !”

And so were we, as we backed the car to turn  and drive away. We wiped the tears from our eyes,  to see those ruts better, for the road was full of  them, and wiped them again, several times on the  way to town.

“0, Lord, I’d rather have you visit that tiny box  of a house, with its coat of fresh green paint, its  brave little window box, and poor young family  than the richest mansion in the land,” I whispered,  and drove back into a day brim full of duty and  demands.

During the months which have elapsed, the  mother writes that her baby is well, gained pounds  in weight; and that her husband has secured a  permanent position in the Post-Office at splendid  salary. Surely none could object to the joy of  salvation and healing being brought to that humble  home.

What Should Be the Attitude of the Church  Toward Divine Healing?

There is only one way in which to rightfully

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answer this question, and that is from the Word of  God.

The attitude taken by the church today should be  identical with that taken by the children of God in  Bible days. It should be the attitude which Moses  took when the Lord spake unto him concerning the  children of Israel: “And said, If thou wilt dili-  gently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and  wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt  give ear to his commandments, and keep all his  statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee,  which I have brought upon the Egyptians ; for I  am the Lord that healeth thee.” Ex. 15:26.

He took the Lord literally at His word and when  sickness and plague did come, as a direct result of  sin and disobedience on the part of his people, he  cried unto the Lord and the plague was stayed.  When his sister Miriam was stricken with leprosy  he knew just how to pray the prayer of faith, “Heal  her, Lord, we beseech thee ” and it was do: .  even as he asked.

The attitude of the church toward divine healing  should be that of Elijah toward the widow’s son,  and of Elisha toward the Shunammite’s son, and  Naaman, the leper, that of faith and power in prayer  to the living God.

But such miracle-working faith can only be had  from God through a very close walk with Jesus.  It does not mix well with concerts, plays, moving  pictures in the parish house, bridge parties and  smokers.

The attitude of the church toward divine heal-  ing should be the attitude of David, when he cried :

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” Bless the Lord, my soul; and all that is within  me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my  soul, and forget not all His benefits. Who forgiveth  all thine iniquities ; who healeth all thy diseases ;  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who  crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender  mercies.” Ps. 103:1-4.

It should be the attitude of Isaiah, when he said  of Christ: “He was wounded for our transgressions,  he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement  of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we  are healed.”

The attitude of the church toward divine healing  should be the attitude of The Master who went about  doing good, delivering those that were oppressed of  the devil; and who said: “As you go preach, saying,  The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick,  cleanse the leper, raise the dead, cast out devils :  freely ye have received, freely give.” Matt. 10:7-8;  and who also gave the great commission: “Go ye  into all the world and preach the Gospel  and these signs shall follow them that believe ; In my  name they shall cast out demons * * * they

shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. ‘ ‘

Ours should be the attitude of the early church  of whom we read: “And they went forth, and  preached everywhere, the Lord working with them,  confirming the Word with signs following. Amen. ‘ ‘  And of Peter, when he said: “Look on us of  silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give  I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,  rise up and walk.” When Peter had spoken these

words, he took the man and lifted him up : and

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immediately his feet and ankle bones received  strength and he leaping stood, and walked, and  entered with them into the temple, walking and  leaping, and praising God.

Ours should be the attitude of the early church  when encompassed on every hand by worldliness, sin  and unbelief. The disciples knew ,the secret of  awaking interest, silencing unbelief, and tearing  down the strongholds of doubt and indifference, and  cried :

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings : and  grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they  may speak thy word. By stretching forth thine  hand to heal ; and that signs and wonders may be  done by the name of thy holy child Jesus/’ And  when they had prayed, the place was shaken where  they were assembled together; and they were all  filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word  of God with boldness.

Our attitude should be that of Peter when in the  5th chapter of Acts, by the power of Jesus the  healing of the sick and the working of signs and  wonders through his prayer, the entire country was  shaken for miles around;

And of Philip when, in the 8th chapter, a whole  city was turned to Christ because they saw and

heard “the miracles which he did” v. 6;

And of James when he left explicit directions for

the healing of the sick through the prayer of faith.

It should be the attitude of John Wesley when  successfully he prayed for the healing of the sick  and saw many diseases among the people, and even  the lameness of his horse healed in answer to prayer.

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Is There a Grave Danger of the Church or  Individual Being Puffed up and Ex-  alted by the Power Manifested  in Their Midst?

The danger to be feared from this source is not  nearly so great as one would at first suppose. The  Lord has some very effective methods of keeping  His children humble today, even as He had in the  Bible days.

Take for instance, the story of the most wonderful  revival of healing on record. It is found in the 5th  chapter of Acts. We read that: “By the hands  of the Apostles were many signs and wonders  wrought among the people, and believers were the  more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men  and women. In so much that they brought forth  the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and  couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing  by might overshadow some of them. There came  also a multitude out of the cities round about unto  Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them that were  vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed  every one.”

How wonderful ! One would expect the entire  city to be in love with Peter and his Gospel. They  were, too, that is, almost all of them.

If there ever was any likelihood of Peter getting  puffed up, it was on this day, but the Lord had a  strong preventative ready. Opposition was raised  up, not from amongst the common people who heard  him gladly, but from the most unexpected quarter  you could have imagined the clergy!

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“Here! Here! These people are taking away all  our crowds, emptying our synagogues and stirring  up altogether too much excitement!” And so we  read in the very next verse, that: “Then the high  priest rose up, and all they that were with him, and  were filled with indignation, and laid their hands  upon the apostles, and put them in the common  prison. But the angel of the Lord by night opened  the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,  Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all

the words of this life.”

They were obedient to the heavenly vision but  before the day was over they were called to stand  before the council, were beaten, humiliated and  ‘ t commanded that they should not speak in the name  of Jesus. And they departed from the presence  of the council, rejoicing that they were counted  worthy to suffer shame for His name ; And daily  in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not  to teach and to preach Jesus Christ.”

History repeats itself in this as in other things  and often the only opposition (in sight at least)  comes from this, the least expected quarter.

Take again the experience of Paul and Barnabas  in the 14th chapter of Acts, after the healing 01  the impotent man of Lystra.

In a loud voice, seeing that the man had faith,  Paul had commanded him to stand upright on his  feet. The man who had never walked in all his  life, leaped and walked and “when the people saw  what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices,  saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come  down to us in the likeness of men. And they called

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Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he  was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Jupiter,  which was before their city, brought oxen and gar-  lands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice  with the people. Which when the apostles, Barnabas  and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran  in among the people, crying out, And saying, Sirs,  why do ye these things? We also are men of like  passions with you, and preach unto you that ye  should turn from these vanities unto the living God,  which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all  things that are therein : And with these sayings  scarce restrained they the people, that they had not  done sacrifice unto them. ” Acts 14:11-18.

If ever Paul and Barnabas had reason to be puffed  up ’twas in this city where multitudes were ready  to fall down and worship at their feet. Then,  though they remained humble and gave the honor  to Jesus, the Lord saw fit to send along the great  preventative after all this praise and commenda-  tion of the people. And the next verse showed the  fickleness and changeableness of the multitudes :  “And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch  and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having  stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing  he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood  round about him, he rose up and came into the  city : and the next day he departed with Barnabas  to Derbe.”

And so it is through the whole Book, fire and  water are equally mixed, that the children of the  Lord do not become puffed up or vain-glorious, and

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that God may have all the honor and ‘praise : for  His glory will He not give to another.

There is nothing to be puffed up over in the praise  and fawning adulation of the crowds, for they who  today cry “Hosannah” and scatter palm branches  may be the very ones who will tomorrow cry,

“Crucify.*

“.God forbid that I should glory save in the cross  of Our Lord Jecus Christ, by whom the world is

crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

Do not expect that the path, seemingly so strewn  with roses, will be without a thorn. “It is enough  for the Disciple that he should be as his master,  and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the  master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall  they call them of his household.

Who Can Pray for the Sick and Afflicted?

The Afflicted. The Lord has so conveniently ar-  ranged the availability of His power and suited it  to our helplessness and need that should we be left  alone in the wastes of the desert or far away on the  country farm, in need of the Great Physician but  with no one to pray for us, we could still be healed  by His gracious power.

“Is any afflicted let HIM (the afflicted one)  pray. Is any merry, let liim sing psalms.” The  little mother, wakened in the night by the choking of  her little babe, with a sudden attack of croup, may  live so close to Jesus that she can reach out her hand  in faith, lay it upon the afflicted throat, pray the  prayer of faith, and claim instant relief and healing.

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It is doubtful whether there is a more helpless  moment in a mother’s life than this when she is  far away in the country, isolated from medical help  or friends. Is this not a practical religion wherein  our Saviour, the Great Physician, is ever within  call to those who believe upon His name and walk  uprightly.

The Elders. Again, if the pastor is busy or un-  available, we are told to call for the elders of the  church and let them pray over us, anointing with  oil in the name of the Lord and that the prayer of  faith shall heal the sick and the Lord shall raise  him up.

To be truly Biblical in our selection of elders, we  should select men who are filled with faith and the  power of the Holy Ghost, whose hearts and minds  are stayed on God. ‘Twould be a terrible thing if  a hurry-up call were sent for the elders and one  had to be brought from the pool hall, another from  the theatre, another from the club, and another  from the card table how could they be in the Spirit  of God to pray the prayer of faith, and claim the  holy promise?

The Minister of the Gospel, the Evangelist, the  Pastor, or any earnest Christian, should all be able  to pray the prayer of faith for the healing of the  sick, whether they have received the “gifts of heal-  ing” or not. “Pray one for another that ye may  be healed. ”

What is the Difference Between the Prayer of  Faith and the Gifts of Healing?

The prayer of faith, as we understand it, is just

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what its name indicates a prayer of faith: “0  Lord Thy Word is true. Thy promises are yea  and amen to everyone that believeth. ” And now,  dear Jesus, we bring our brother or sister in the  arms of faith unto Thy throne. Be pleased to lay  Thy hand in healing and blessing upon this afflicted  one that they may be made whole from this very

hour.”

The gifts of healing, coming as a special unction  from God, at special times, in special cases, usually  according to the tide of faith, cries: “In the name  of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be thou made whole.  “Rise up and walk;” commands the blind eyes to  be opened and the deaf ears to be unstopped. ‘Tis  as though the power and authority of God through  the Holy Spirit had descended upon and enveloped  one for the time being even as the mantle of Elijah  fell upon and clothed Elisha.

Just What Benefits to the Church are Derived  from Divine Healing?

The practical benefits which the church derives  from the healing of the sick are substantial and  manifold.

1. The minister and the elder must walk close to God and be men whose sober, godly Spirit-filled  life enables them to pray the prayer of faith.

2. It awakens the interest of entire com- munities and convinces infidels who have hereto-  fore cried, “Where is your God?” Like the dynamic

challenge of Elijah, “the God that answers by fire,

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let him be God!” it brings down the power from  Heaven.

3. It draws multitudes unto Jesus, causing them to repent and make Him their Saviour who were  erstwhile cold and indifferent to revivals or religion  of any kind. The very act of preparing for healing,  as set forth in this volume, leads the petitioner to  Calvary’s fountain and places him upon the altar  of consecration.

4. It is a death blow to indifference and sets thousands to the unaccustomed task of reading the  Bible to see whether these things be so.

5. It packs the church that has been heretofore only occasionally filled by some gigantic entertain-  ment or special effort, and gives you the opportunity  to pour the blessed Gospel into open, receptive

6. It is God’s answer to Christian Science and as such will help you win back the members you  have lost when they turned to the only church they  could find that expressed any interest in the physical  welfare of the people.

7. It will benefit the blind in that when healed, they can read the Bible ; the deaf in that they can  hear the preached Word; the lame knees in that  they can again kneel in prayer to the Lord Jesus ;  stimulate your own faith insomuch that you can see  and feel the hand of the Lord working with you,  confirming the Word with signs following.

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May It Not Be That Much of Our Sickness Is

Sent from the Hand of the Lord to Make

Us Better Christians or to Keep Us

from Wandering Away?

This is an old and oft advanced theory but is  without foundation in the Word of God.

The thought of our tender, sympathizing Jesus  planting within His children cruel cancers to burn  and gnaw and eat their way into the very heart of  the sufferer, or paralysis to the limbs of little child-  ren that they can run and play no more, or blindness  to the eyes of the father that he can no more earn  his daily bread, or venereal diseases to children that  they will be made imbecile and crippled is hideous  and to be unthought of.

This is not the work of our Lord but of the arch-  fiend Satan whose work Jesus came to destroy. When  the Lord made the world, it was pure, innocent,  free from sin and sickness. ‘Twas the devil who  sowed these seeds but there is deliverance through  the triune God for body, soul and Spirit.

“Well, but there is Brother M . He is such

a holy man. He has been seated patiently in that  chair for over 25 years! Do you not suppose that  the Lord sent that stroke of paralysis to him ? Who  knows but that he might have been a wicked sinner

or a backslider had this blow never come.”

“Indeed, Brother M is a dear, precious Christ-  ian, a striking example of patience, fortitude and  strength, but I cannot believe that God tied him  to that chair for 25 years for fear he might run

away from him and become a sinner. ‘Tis not

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enforced service or conscription our Lord demands  but free will enlistment. If, as you say, the Lord  sends diseases, creates suffering bodies and sorrow-  ing- homes to make us better Christians, why not  get some vials of germs, diphtheria, T. B., infantile  paralysis, etc., from the laboratories and scatter  them over the congregation to make us all more  patient and Christlike? If a little is good, would  not more be better?

Is it Then a Sin to be Sick?

No. Some of the most godly men and women you  know are saints of the Most High and will soon be  over on the glory side. And there are some for  whom, for some reason, deliverance does not seem  to come and, as we have already said, divine healing  is not a law but a blessed privilege for those who  can press through and touch the Master’s garment.

Is It Wise to Teach Our People to Endure With

Meekness the Chastisement as Something

Sent to Teach Us Patience?

This question brings a case of little Miss , of

Los Angeles, to mind. For some twenty years the  consolation of the church to her had been along  this very line.

“This is your cross ” she was told, “Bear it

patiently and with submission.”

Poor frail little body ; she had quivered under the  surgeon’s knife again and again, but the old trouble  would still return.

After being confined to her bed for 18 months

after the last abdominal operation, the shades had

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been kept down because of her nervous prostration  and suffering. She heard, through a friend, of the  meetings and of the power of Christ to heal the  sick.

She was almost ready for another operation to be  performed but grasped the idea of deliverance  through Christ as a dying man might clutch a straw  only this wasn’t a straw. ‘Twas to her a life-

buoy firm and strong and sure. She laid hold upon  it and held it fast, determined to arise, attend the  meetings and have prayer offered for her healing.

Her dear pastor came and talked to her sweetly  again about being patient and submissive to the will  of God, but she had tried that way for so many  years and had suffered so many torturous cruci-  fixions, worse than death, that it seemed as though  she just could not go through it all again. And  though he at last told her there was nothing to divine

healing and that he disapproved of her going to the

meeting for prayer, Miss J , herself the daughter

of a Presbyterian minister pressed in and claimed  the promise.

She was wheeled into the meeting in a rolling  chair, healed, shouted the praises of the Lord and  in a short space of time was testifying and praying  for sinners at the altar. Tests came later, but the  Lord took her through triumphantly, making her a  shining light and a winner of many souls.

The dear minister seemed to be put out and  almost angry when the sister returned home, dis-  charged her nurse, sang and rejoiced in the new-  found strength and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

But I don’t see why he should be angry, do you?

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Do You Hold the Theory That We Can Live  Forever in This Mortal Body?

Not at all. A man’s years shall be three score and  ten in the plan of our Heavenly Father.

But there is protection for the saints of God, for,

“He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under

His wing shalt thou trust : His truth shall be thy

shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for  the terror by night ; nor for the arrow that flieth  by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in  darkness ; nor for the destruction that wasteth at  noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten  thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come  nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold  and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou  hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the  Most High, thy habitation ; There shall no evil befall  thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwell-  ing. For he shall give his angels charge over thee,  to keep thee in all thy ways. * * * Because he  hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver  him ; I will set him on high, because he hath known  my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer  him : I will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver  him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy

him, and shew him my salvation. ”

Its Place in God’s Pattern for a Model

Revival

The Bible Pattern for a Model Revival is given  us in the eighth chapter of the book of Acts.

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This revival reaches, as all model revivals should,  in three directions, touching body, soul and spirit.  Its teachings ring forth clearly declaring a triune  God for a triune man. Its methods are simple,  practical, powerful and effective, in bringing thou-  sands to Christ.

Its threefold theme and presentation of Jesus

Christ, embraces Salvation, Divine Healing, and the  Baptism of the Holy Spirit. A revival which fails  to teach and see results along these three lines, is  more or less of a failure and falls short of the  Bible pattern of a model revival.

There were no great committee promotion boards,  or earthly organizations to assist Philip. There  were no mammoth preparations made. In fact a  revival and a turning to Jesus Christ was farthest  from the minds of the people of that city. And yet,

the logical, Spirit-filled, Christ-exalting preaching  of one man, accompanied by the demonstration and  power of the Holy Spirit which backed up the Word,  brought about such a soul-shaking revival that it  turned the city up-side-down, caused the castles of  doubt, superstition and sin to fall crumbling to the  dust; and swept thousands into the kingdom.

There is nothing, mysterious, hidden or beyond  spiritual comprehension in the methods Philip used  in bringing it about. He had the God-given pattern  of the Word. He laid it on the whole cloth of that  city and, with the scissors of the Spirit, it was cut  true to form.

We are told just what steps led up to the re-  vival; just what brought the crowds of people to-  gether; what made them believe when they did

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come, and that which happened when they did be-  lieve. We are given a complete pattern. Why  should we not therefore pray God for such a “model  revival” of old-time power today, as shook Samaria  in the days of old ?

Philip Was Prepared

One of the great reasons why the efforts of so  many ministers and evangelists fail, is either that  their own hearts have never been prepared, or that  they have lost their first love and their faith has  grown dull and cloudy.

Philip was prepared in heart, faith and message.

1. He had a positive knowledge and testimony as to the definite time and place when he first saw  the Christ whom he preached. Jesus had “found”  him and spoken those two tender, thrilling words :  “Follow Me.” (John 1 :43). There and then Philip  had not only become a follower of the Christ, but  an active soul-winner. We read in the very next  verse that Philip ” found” Nathaniel, whom he told  that he had ” found” the Christ.

To be a successful evangelist or soul-winner, we,  too, must have a definite testimony of know-so Sal-  vation a definite knowledge of sins forgiven and of  the hour when we were born again and all things  became new.

2. Philip had had an intimate walk and rela- tionship with Jesus. For three years, he had gazed  into that loving face bending over the sea of humani-  ty that ever thronged His path. He had listened to

the tenderness in the voice of the Master calling the

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sheep that had gone astray, teaching the multitudes  the way of salvation, and gently saying to Mary  Magdalene: “Thy sins which were many, are all  forgiven. Go in peace and sin no more,” till his  own voice and heart had caught, that melting ten-  derness.

He had seen Christ lift the fallen, cheer the faint ;  had seen Him heal the sick and make the lame to  walk. He had seen the glad light, like happy dawn  after a night of terror, transfigure a mother’s face  when her sick and crippled child had been made  whole and stood upon its feet.

He had seen the indescribable joy of the blind  when first they gazed upon the trees, the earth, the  flowers, till their eyes found and lingered longest  on the fairest of them all, “the Rose of Shaaron,

the Lily of the Valleys, the bright and morning

Star.”

He had heard the Master ‘say, “Go YE into  all the world and preach the Gospel to every  creature . . These signs shall follow them that  believe : In My name they shall cast out devils ;  they shall speak with new tongues; they shall lay  hands on the sick and they shall recover. ” Mark 16.  The works which I do, shall ye do also and greater  works than these shall ye do because I go to my  Father.

He had not only beheld his crucified, resurrected

Lord as ascending into the heavens, but

He had tarried in the City of Jerusalem, until, with  rushing wind and tongues of flame, he was baptized  with the Holy Ghost and fire.

Thus equipped with a knowledge of Christ as his

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personal Saviour; a heart filled with the tenderness

of the Master, bleeding over humanity; an endue-  ment of power of the Holy Ghost, as an equipment  for service; and a mountain-high faith in Christ’s  ability and faithfulness to back up the preached  Word, he went forth in His Name to the city of  Samaria, which was to be the scene of the coming re-  vival.

His Text “Christ”

Arriving upon the scene of action, Philip went to  work in a direct, businesslike, logical way. We read  that “when Philip was .come down unto Samaria, he

preached Christ unto them. ‘ ‘

He did not preach politics, social reform, communi-

ty uplift, theories or doctrinal differences, but he  preached CHRIST. Not a different Christ than He  who walked the shores of Galilee, forgiving sin and  healing the sick. Not a limited Christ whose power  had waned, nor a far-off Christ who could not hear,  but the Christ whose power was just the same a.  Christ who had said: “Lo ? I am with you alway,  even unto the end of the world. ‘ ‘

“And preached Christ to them.” What stupen-  dous power is held captive in those words !

“And preached Christ.” ‘Tis as though mighty  hands had firmly caught the curtains of space and in-  tervening years and swept them wide apart to let the  glory of the present Christ shine through.

Oh, Philip, how we wish that we could have slipped  softly into one of the back seats and heard you  “Preach Christ!” What did you say about Him,

Philip? Did you tell of the Virgin Birth and the

Babe of Bethlehem in the manger so lowly ? Did you

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tell of the Christ, clad in mighty power, giving light  to those who sat in darkness and the shadow of  death ; bringing deliverance to the captive and sight  to the blind ; causing the deaf to hear, the lame to  walk, the hungry to eat in plenty and be satisfied?  Did you tell of the joy of Salvation? Of the Christ  who supplied each need?

Oh, I am sure that you did !

And as the people listened, spell-bound by the tale  you told, new light, new hope, new visions came to  them, flowing like a river from the fountain-head of  God.

Philip’s Preaching Backed up by Signs

Following

How handicapped would Philip have been had he  been obliged to preach a different Christ a limited  Christ. He would needs have said unto Samaria:

“Now, dear people, while I am preaching Christ  to you and telling of the things He did whilst on this  earth, you must not expect to see them now, for the  light of supernatural and miraculous demonstrations  of the power of Christ is passed away with His as-  cension. ”

Somehow I do not believe that the revival  would have been nearly as great and wonderful. Do  you? But, praise the Lord, he knew no such handi-  cap and, as he preached Christ unto them, he was  able to say :

“Come, dear sinner, come to the living Jesus now.  Forsake your sin. Give Him your entire being, seek  ye His face, believe on Him with the whole heart and

even now He will be your Saviour. He will pardon

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your sin-sick soul; He will heal your body; He will

bear your burdens and be your all in all.”

“And the people with one accord gave heed unto  those thing’s which Philip spake, hearing and seeing  the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, cry-  ing with loud voice, came out of many that were pos-  sessed with them; and many taken with palsies, and  that were lame, were healed/*

Why, how could they help taking heed when they  saw and heard the miracles which were done ! Not-  ice in this pattern for a revival that the reason for  the crowds, the attention, the believing and the re-  sults are attributed to the fact that they saw and  heard the miracles the signs following the official  inimitable seal of divine sanction and approval from  heaven, which followed Christ’s ministry and that of  Peter, Paul and James. (Read Matt. 8; Acts 5th  and 8th chapters.)

“And there was great joy in the city”; joy in the  heart of the mother when her blind baby, for the  first time, saw her face joy in the home where once  were wrangling and wrath but now reign the altar,  family worship and love joy in the hearts of the  Christians, when they see the answer to their prayer  joy in the once parched desert, now blossoming as  the rose.

Philip’s Method Brings Awakening and

Conviction to Entire City

“But what is the good of all this? What is the  ultimate result of these healings of the body? Will  they not ultimately go down into the grave any-  One Hundred Eighteen

way?” You ask, “Would” it not be better to do a

work for the spirit which lives forever?”

But do you not see, dear heart, that this is just  what did happen? The healing of the body brought  the people to Christ.” And when they believed  Philip preaching the things concerning the things of  God 1 , in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,

both men and women.” (V. 12.)

Divine healing served as the handmaiden of the  Gospel.

Divine healing was the “turnkey” who went  ahead to the doors of “Doubting Castle” and swung  them upon their creaking hinges, that the Sun of  Righteousness might enter in with healing in His  wings ; drive back the dominion of night and set  the prisoners of darkness free.

The very Christ whose own ministry had been so

marked with His healing of the sick and who asked :  “Whether is it easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven  thee, or Rise, take up thy bed and walk,” was with  Philip confirming the preached Word, with signs fol-  lowing, and there was nothing left to do but believe.

These were not mere empty theories ; these were  practical, tangible facts and realities. A living

Christ was being preached unto them, who had the  power and the willingness to change their lives from  darkness into light; to lift their burdens; to heal  their sick ; to banish their sin ; and clothe them with  righteousness and joy.

Who could resist such a mighty Christ or with-  stand such convincing argument? Not Samaria, at  least so the whole city turned to Christ.

Now we, of today, having our hearts cleansed by

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the precious atoning blood of Jesus, having faith  within us and such a baptism of Holy Ghost power,  as that which Philip received on the day of Pente-  cost, may still go forth, preaching the Word of God  with boldness and see our Christ confirm the Word  with signs following, thus bringing multitudes to His  feet. We should be able not only to preaph about  this power but should see it demonstrated in our  midst, as Philip did in Acts 8 :7 ; as Peter did in Acts  5 :14-16 ; and as Paul in Acts 28 :8, 9, when by this  means they turned thousands to the Christ.

What a glorious revival it was multitudes saved,  healed, baptized in water and great joy in the city.  Even Simon, the sorcerer, continued with Philip and  wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which  were done.

The Baptism of the Holy Ghost Crowning

Glory Upon Revival

Now, many of us would have thought this revival  complete, well-rounded out and needing nothing  more.

The people of Samaria had had a much greater ex-  perience than that of the average congregation of  church members today. And yet, though the revival  had touched two phases of their life soul and body,  there was one more thing needed and ’tis this we all  need so much today The Baptism of The Holy  Ghost.

“Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem  heard that Samaria had received the Word of God,

they sent unto them Peter and John : who, when they

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were come down prayed for them, that they might  receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet He was fallen  upon none of them: only they were baptized in the  Name of the Lord 1 Jesus). They laid their hands up-  on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. ‘ ‘

A revival, in order to measure up to this Scriptural  model should clearly teach, and, as far as possible,  help believers through into the experience of the bap-  tism of the Holy Spirit which is an enduement of  power intended to equip the Christian for service and  practical soul-winning for the Master.

In recent campaigns which have grown to such an  enormous size and intensity, the writer has come to  understand, as never before, how Philip, pressed on  every hand with sinners seeking salvation, the sick  imploring healing, and the toil of bringing the nets  to land, was unable to help sweep them on to the re-  ceiving of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

But the Lord saw to it that brethren were sent,  whose sole duty it was to lay their hands upon the  believers and pray for them that they might receive  the Holy Ghost.

So glorious and self-evident was the receiving of  the Holy Spirit, whose in-coming must surely have  been identical with that received in Acts 2nd, 10th,  and 19th chapters, that Simon offered money in  hopes that he might be vested with the power to be-  stow such a Gift, believing his fortune would be made  forever, if he but had the power to impart such joy  and happiness as he saw come upon the recipients of  this blessed experience. This power could not be  bought with money, however, but with repentance,  humility and prayer.

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Here is the Pattern for the Model Revival

The model revival reaches in three directions. It  brings :

FIRST Salvation and forgiveness of all sin through  the precious blood of Calvary ; a genuine, born-again  experience ; a real change of heart and an identifica-  tion with the death, burial, resurrection and life of  Jesus Christ.

SECOND Divine healing for the sick and suffering  body, thus fitting the temple for strength of service.

A man, when he has purchased a dilapidated  house, in which he intended to reside, does not usually  leave the shutters and doors hanging by one hinge,  the floor boards caving in, the roof leaking and the  cellar damp and musty. He takes his hammer,  screw-driver and nails, rehangs the doors and shut-  ters, reshingles the roof, braces the floor and airs the

damp and mouldy cellar. –

A good mechanic, buying a squeaky automobile,  with one flat tire, a rusty body, and in need of a  general overhauling, does not usually run it in its  ailing condition. He buys new tires, scrapes off the  rust, repaints and varnishes it, tightens the bearings,  oils the machinery, fills the grease-cups, cleans the  spark-plugs, replaces a few old parts with new, and  declares his car is ready for efficient service and use.

So it is with our Saviour who has redeemed us with

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His blood. He has purchased us, not that we might  always sit around in the dilapidated condition in  which our late owner, the devil, left us, but to repair  or make us over new, that with strong bodies and a  willing heart we may yield to Him our glad, glad  service.

But some may say: “I would rather be as I  am ; I know so and so, one of the dearest saints, who

was always ill.”

All right, my dears, according to your faith be it  unto you. If you feel that God leads you in the  paths of the suffering for His name’s sake, obey His  voice indeed, but many, at least, have found the  Saviour mending the old leaky roof, truing up the  run-down engine, and fitting the temple or the vehicle  for His service.

THIRD The Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The en-

duement of power for service and practical level-  headed, soul-winning was needed by the people of  Samaria and is needed for the converts of our reviv-  als today. Power to testify, power to pray, power to  glorify and exalt the adorable Christ, power to de-  clare the imminence of His second coming, and to  help the faint on the way.

Here is the pattern, here is the cloth. God’s Word  is still unchanged. How many will rise up today  and, in believing faith, ask the Lord to prepare our  hearts as He prepared the heart of Philip, that we  may be sent forth unto the surrounding “Samarias,”  and crown the preaching of Christ with a model re-  vival of the old-time, three-fold power.

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Testimonies of Jesus’ Power to Heal

The Sick

Do the healings last ? Eead these testimonies from  Alton people ten months after revival campaign and  rejoice with us.

I had a stiff ankle of fourteen years’ standing from  inflammatory rheumatism. It ached and pained all  the time, and I could not step on anything but I  would fall. The doctors said it would never be of  any use to me. On July 17, 1920, I was prayed for  at the McPherson meeting in Alton, and was instant-  ly healed, and never have had an ache or pain in my  ankle since. Glory to Jesus and His healing power.

When I saw His power to heal, I called upon Him  in the name of Jesus to take the tobacco habit away  from me. I had been a slave to it for 25 years,  chewed 40 cents worth a day, chewed so constantly  that my fellow-workmen called me ” Tobacco Smith.”  I promised Jesus if He would take the habit away I  would serve Him faithfully and would never use it  again. At that moment I was caught up to heaven  at the right hand of God, and when I came to myself  I knew the habit was gone. People watched me for  miles around, and said, “If Tobacco Smith can quit,  I will believe there is something in it.” It has been  the means of quite a number of my fellow-workmen  quitting too.

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I also praise Him that He has baptized my dear  wife and myself with the blessed Holy Ghost, glory  to His precious name ! John A. Smith, 627 Monroe  Ave., East Alton, 111.

Fourteen Pound Tumor Gone I praise Jesus for  healing me, and taking a 14-pound tumor away. The  doctor said there was no hope for me without an  operation. I could not keep anything on my stomach  and suffered terribly. I was prayed for at the Mc-  Pherson meeting last summer, and afterward ex-  amined by the same doctor, and he said, ” There is  no trace of a tumor now. 7 ‘ I surely praise Him with  all my heart. He has since saved my husband, who  was a professional wrestler and gambler, and bap-  tized us both with the Holy Ghost. Our home is so  different now, and Jesus gets all the glory. He was  head usher at our three-day McPherson meeting here  recently, and he says you couldn’t have told him a  year ago he would have been doing that, and enjoy-  ing it with all his heart. Praise our wonder-working  Jesus ! Mrs. Elmer Cannon, Yaeger Park, R. 3, No.

17, Alton, 111.

Praise the Lord for healing me of broken arches  last summer when Sister McPherson was here. I had  been lame three years, the ligaments were torn loose,  and the ankle bone was clear down on the bottom of  the foot. Now I can run and walk and go every-  where. My husband and I have since received the  Baptism, and how we praise Him for what this last  year has brought us. Mrs. Arthur Cannon, 1269  State St., Alton, 111.

Healed of Cancer I wish to express my heartfelt

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gratitude to Jesus Christ for healing me instantly

and permanently of a most terrible cancer in the  lower part of my body of an internal nature, caused  from bearing a son into the world. I can never ex-  press my suffering these awful years. I employed  medical aid from numerous doctors and tried every  known skill of doctors’ science, but all to no avail.  Could neither eat regularly or sleep; could not sit  comfortably in a chair or lie in bed and get any real  rest. I lost over 25 pounds and would cry if one  looked at me. Spent hours in tears.

While I was in the depot at Girard waiting to take  the train for Springfield to be operated on, a telegram  was handed me from my mother at Alton, 111. ” Don’t  go to Springfield, come to McPherson meeting in-  stead.” I did, and God completely healed me the  instant I was anointed. I have not had a symptom  of the old trouble since, not an ache or pain. I work  hard, and go out working for my Master, and am so  happy in Him !

The next day after my healing I also had the bless-  ed privilege of receiving the Baptism and was filled  with the Holy Ghost. In addition to a new body,  I have a Comforter and Guide in the Blessed Spirit.

Mrs. Lottie Inman, Box 215, Girard, 111.

I lay last year for fourteen weeks with the influen-  za, five weeks of that time unconscious. Then I was  taken to the Westminster Hospital, where they said  the flu had settled in my ankles, and I would not be  able to walk. I also had eczema, and my body was  all a running sore. I was carried to the McPherson  meeting last summer and God instantly healed me.  Now I can walk any distance, often walking clear up

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to our church, a distance of about two miles. In a  few weeks I received the baptism, so now I am serv-  ing my Jesus with the strength and the power He  has given me, praise His dear Name! Mrs. Anna  Maurer, 1820 Central Ave., Alton, 111.

I praise the Lord for healing me of a running sore

in my side. I was operated on, and the wound did  not heal for nine months. Then I went to the tent  meeting in Alton, and when Sister McPherson prayed  for me, I felt the healing power go through my body,  the wound closed, and it has never run a minute  since. My little boy was healed at the same time of  tuberculosis. He used to be scarcely able to breathe  with all the windows wide open, now he can breathe  and run and play like other children. Oh, how I  praise Jesus for sending Sister here to Alton. Mrs.

Delia Henson, North Alton, 111.

I praise Jesus for saving me, healing me of tuber-  culosis, and baptizing me with His precious Spirit at  the tent meeting in Alton last summer. I was  brought here from Collinsville, 111., where I had been  taking treatment for some time in a tuberculosis  sanitarium. Oh, it seemed so wonderful to stand  and testify, and walk about and praise my Jesus dur-  ing those days of the tent-meeting. I want to go all  the way with Him ! Praise His name forever. Mrs.

Richard Leubbin, Benld, 111.

How I praise Jesus for what He has done for me ;  for His saving, keeping and healing power ! For  seven years I had doctored for stomach and kidney  trouble, trying many different doctors. I suffered

constantly, could only eat break!: and milk and that

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with discomfort. Was prayed for at the McPherson  meeting last summer, and Jesus healed me ; now I  can eat anything, and no pain! I praise Him be-  cause He is the same Jesus that walked the shores of  Galilee. He has since baptized me with His blessed  Spirit, praise His name ! Mrs. Fred E. Hite, 724  East 6th St., Alton, 111.

Dear Sister: I praise God for healing me of a rup-  ture. I was ruptured about seven years ago, and  two years ago it bothered me so much I had to wear  a support, and I thought I would have to be operated  on, but praise God, He healed me last summer at the  tent meeting, and I know He can heal others if they  only trust in Him ! Your Sister in Him, Mrs. Viola  Goyette, 802 East 6th St., Alton, 111.

I had stomach trouble for twenty-one years, was  treated by nearly every doctor in Alton, spent enough  in doctor bills to build a church. Last summer I  was saved in Sister McPherson ‘s meeting here, and  after the meetings closed I went up to Brother Kort-  kamp’s church and was prayed for and the Great  Physician did what no Alton doctor could do, and  now I praise God for health. I gained 12 pounds in  just a few weeks. In the fall God baptised myself,  wife, and three children, and this fall we are going  to Auburn, Neb., where I will enter school to study  for the ministry. Please pray for us. We want to  glorify God in our lives and go all the way with  Him. Brother S. A. Eayborn, 324 Harriet St., Al-  ton, 111.

I am praising God for healing me of heart trouble

last July at the McPherson meeting. I have since

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received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and am  trusting Jesus entirely for my body, never using  medicine since I have found that Jesus is the same  yesterday, today and forever ! Mrs. James Johnson,  1009 East Sixth St., Alton, 111.

Funeral Postponed I’ve been sick ever since I was  ten years old, and have doctored for over twenty  years with nearly every doctor in Alton, also with  specialists. I had nervous prostration, catarrh of  throat, lungs and stomach, finally going into con-  sumption. I never knew what it was not to be tak-  ing three or four kinds of medicine a day. Finally  the doctors told me the only thing for me was to  go to a different climate, though not much hope held  out for that. I realized the situation and made my  burial clothes, picked out the songs I wanted sung  at my funeral, and wrote out the text in the back of  my Bible. My clothes are still lying in the bottom  of my trunk, but Sister McPherson came and it  made a change in my plans. I heard the truth of  divine healing. I came up and was anointed and  am entirely healed not even having a symptom of  the old trouble.

I have gained in weight, work hard, and am serv-  ing my Saviour that did such wonders for me. My  husband and I have since received the Baptism of  the Spirit, and our home is so changed, life is worth  living now, praise Jesus ! Mrs. Charles Goring, Bad-  ley Ave., Alton, 111.

I do praise God for healing my little girl of curva-  ture of the spine. The doctors at the clinic had told

me that she must have a brace or she would grow

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worse as she grew older. She was prayed for at  your meeting here last summer, and later was exam-  ined by the same doctors at the clinic and they said  she was all right and did not need a brace. I give  Jesus all the glory.

Myself and children are all trusting in Jesus en-  tirely for our healing, and have taken no medicine  since September. My little girl and boy, also my-  self, received the Baptism of the Spirit, glory to  Jesus! I’m so glad you ever came to Alton, for I  was a backslider then, and now I love my Saviour  with all my heart. Mrs. Irene Hazelwood, 319 East  3rd St., Alton, 111.

I was healed of rheumatism in July, 1920, when  Sister McPherson prayed for me. I had had it for  two years, and it got so bad that I could not sleep  for the pain; my toes and limbs would draw, and I  suffered intensely. I finally became so I could not  walk two blocks at a time, nor step up on the street  car. I was healed completely when anointed, and  now can walk, and run as well as ever.

I give Jesus all the glory ! Mrs. Herman Brochies,  2815 East 3rd St., Upper Alton, 111.

Notes of Healing from St. Louis, Mo.

More than fifteen years ago I lost my hearing from  shock and cold caused by a fire which burned a  building where I lived. I attended the services and  heard the prayers and messages through an ear de-  vice. Here Jesus cleansed me of my sins, and putting  my trust in Him, He healed my deafness through the

prayers offered up by Sister McPherson. 0, I am

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so happy since I met and heard her pray for sinners  and the sick and helpless. Praise Him ! Sing more  of His love ! Mrs. B. Winn, 1427 Montgomery St.,  St. Louis, Mo.

At first I came to Sister McPherson’s meeting in  St. Louis at Moolah Temple to be healed but beheld  that Jesus was a living Jesus and not dead. Seeing  the miracles caused me to seek salvation, and that  earnestly. After making many attempts to pray my  way through, I began to weep and soon found my  way to the prayer-room.

I felt so wretched and wicked that I thought I  would perish, and that I was way down in the pit  with demons,, but in a second it appeared as if a  shaft of lightning came out of Heaven and Jesus’  hand led me safely out. I was born again and im-  mediately received the baptism of the Holy Spirit  and spoke with tongues. Even now as I write I can  feel Jesus’ presence.

Of all the sins with which man’s soul was black-  ened I was guilty yes, I was chief of all sinners  cold-blooded murder, all kinds of robberies, burning  houses, evil companions, vilest of habits ; the worst  sinner and infidel in St. Louis. Since my salvation  and baptism of the Holy Spirit, it seems my old as-  sociates fear my presence, and when I touch them  they tremble. My eye afflictions are gradually dis-  appearing as I pray. As I am able to see Jesus  more, I walk closer to Him. Henry C Satterwhite,  St. Louis, Mo.

Cancer passed away “While attending the meet-  ings in Moolah Temple, St. Louis, I was wonderfully  healed, saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.

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Through the prayers of Mrs. McPherson, I was com-  pletely healed of cancer of the stomach. Almost in-  stantly, as she placed her hand upon my stomach,  I could feel the cancer breaking loose, and I had  barely time to get into privacy before the cancer  passed from my body, though it was so large I had  to assist in its removal. It weighed about a pound  and one-quarter, and had roots ranging from one  inch to six inches in length. I showed it to four per-  sons, but did not make an effort to preserve it.

I was also healed of rheumatism of years ‘ standing  in my arm could not raise it high. Praise the  Lord ! I expect to serve Him the rest of my life in  whatever He bids me do.

My little daughter 12 years old was healed of deaf-  ness and blindness. Mrs. R. T. Gregg, St. Louis, 312  Evans Ave., May 17.

Dear Mrs. McPherson: I am writing you to tell  you of the healing of our 7-year-old daughter, Mil-  dred, during the meetings held by you in San Diego.  She had an incurable (from a human standpoint)  ear trouble, and Jesus thru your prayers healed her.  Her faith and prayers are the most beautiful I have  ever heard from a child, and we can never praise  Jesus enough. Mrs. E. S., 2258 Ft. Stockton Dr.,  San Diego, Cal.

Spinal Trouble Healed I can thank the Lord for the  healing of my body, as I had had spinal trouble for  twelve years, and when I heard you were at the Han-  cock M. E. Church, I went down and heard your  sermons and the healing night, I went to the altar

and when you anointed and prayed for me, the pain

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in my back was gone and it has not pained me  since. I also praise the Lord for the Baptism of the  Holy Ghost. Charlotte Becher, Philadelphia, Pa.

I wish to thank both God and you for the happy  family in my home happy in God’s heart as well as  in health. I have been in bad health for three years,  afflicted with a tumor, rheumatism and nervous  troubles, so bad I could not dress myself. I have been  treated by six of the best physicians in the City and  received no benefit. Became disgusted. When you  came to our City and started the work of our Lord  I attended the meetings and became interested. I  came to the altar and gave myself to Jesus Christ,  heart and soul. I made two attempts to be healed  with the faith and power of the Lord Jesus Christ  at your hands as His disciples ; failing both times to  reach you because of the throng. I sent in my card  and went home in prayer with my four daughters  and on the following day received the blessing.  From now on my family and myself will attend  Church and Praise God and pray as we never prayed  before. Mrs. A. L. Ellis, St. Louis, Mo.

Seven years ago I was left in a very serious condi-  tion from child-birth. After two years and six  months I could keep up no longer, my strength left  me. The doctors told me, “No hope only an oper-  ation, but don’t know whether you can stand that.”  After the operation I was almost gone from ether  pneumonia. Nine months later, I underwent another  operation and from that time, only God knows what  I have suffered. I also had an attack of influenza.

Doctors said I must have another operation, but I

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would not consent to it. The Doctors of Aberdeen  said, “You will come to it sooner or later, there is  no other way. ” At Eochester, Minn., they said,  “You cannot stand another operation, your nerves  are wrecked from so much surgery, you poor woman,  it’s too bad. ” Later, the Lord spoke to me and said,  “Trust Me and I will heal thee and you shall be well  like you were before those operations.” The Lord  impressed me to come to St. Louis. I was anointed  and prayed for by Sister McPherson and Glory to  Jesus ! He wonderfully touched my body, straight-  ened that curvature of the spine, I could feel the  vertebrae going into place, healed my throat and  healed my heart. Put those floating kidneys back  into place, and healed those adhesions. It was like  an Osteopath at work, I could feel the touch of His  healing hand I have no pain Hallelujah! There  is nothing too great for this wonderful Physician.

Mrs. J. A. Loock, Hecla, S. D.

For thirty years I have been troubled with a most  terrible spasmodic affection of the nerves. At times  I have had as many as 500 spasms of the nerves in  one day, by the physician’s count, but Sister McPher-  son prayed for me and God wonderfully touched my  body and healed me. Mrs. S. Williams, Dallas, Texas

Walked Seventy-five Miles to Revival

I left Allen, Okla., about two hundred miles from  here (Dallas) and catching a ride of about one hun-  dred and twenty miles, I walked the balance of the  way, about seventy-five miles to the meetings and  God healed my eyes, after suffering with them about  fifteen months. L. L. Osborn.

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God delivered me from lung trouble. I came to  the altar, got right with God, fasted and prayed and  He healed me when Sister McPherson prayed for me.  I also had a defect in my right eye and when I got  home and picked up the paper, my right eye was  as clear as the left. Mr. Strubel, Clovis, N. M.

For seventeen long years I was a sufferer with ner-  vous asthma and in that time nothing was left un-  done that we thought would improve my health, even  a little bit, and I was thinking of trying an opera-  tion on my nose, but the Doctors would not insure  relief even with that. Then, you came to Alton. I  had often told my mother I believed I could be healed  by faith in Jesus, if I had some one who was full  of love and faith to pray with and for me, so when  you came I began to prepare. I had been a Chris-  tian for sixteen years, so on July 8, 1920, when I at-  tended the Healing Service in the First Methodist  Church and you anointed me in the Name of the  Lord, prayer was answered. For five years I had  not been able to lie down, could only sleep propped  in a chair, or propped in bed and then only for a  few minutes at a time and would wake choking, but  praise the Lord! That awful time is over and my  last prayer at night is, “May God bless dear Sister  McPherson and help her, in her wonderful work. ”  Miss Pearl Rayborn, Alton, 111.

Regains Hearing After 1 8 Years

This is my personal testimony as to the healing

power of the Great Physician.

Sunday evening I went up for healing, knowing

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that the Great Physician was healing His children,  and Praise the Lord, He touched me. At the age of  two years, I had diphtheria and suffered with an ab-  scess, the size of a large goose egg on the right side  of my neck, close to the ear. The Doctor advised  my parents to scatter this abscess instead of bring-  ing it to a head. Consequently, upon recovering  from the disease I was left afflicted with a discharg-  ing ear, the ear-drum shattered and my hearing com-  pletely gone. A few months ago a Doctor upon an  examination said, that a sac full of pus was forming  close to the brain and it would necessitate a very  dangerous operation and that my whole system was  likewise poisoned and it would only be a course of  time as I would not live to be more than 21 years of  age. Praise the Lord, I am on the road to recovery.  Since Sunday evening the work of the Saviour has  been the same as told of in Bible times. That same  night my hearing, as many know, was restored after  being entirely deaf for 18 years. Monday evening  the discharge started flowing out of my head. On  Tuesday the right side of my neck was a mass of  abscesses full of this corruption which would break  and refill. My ear has been continually draining  since. The cords on the side of my neck are soft  and at their normal size, these have been swollen  and hard for years. For two days it seemed like a  raw sore was in the vicinity of my ear and how it  did burn, but that has gone now. I had not known  a well day free from pain since I was a baby in my  mother’s arms, but Glory! Glory! Glory! I am no  longer a prisoner held captive to suffering, for all

the pain has left my body and I am well. The

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chains are broken, and Praise the Lord, I have pur-  chased a ticket on the good old Bible line.

I hope you don’t get weary reading this epistle,  but I just had to tell you how wonderful the love of  Jesus is to me.

May God bless you, Sister McPherson, and ever  keep you in His arms of love, is the wish of my  young heart. Sincerely yours, Irene H. Locklin,  Diego, Cal.

What a Joy to Praise the Lord ! And how I love  Jesus for all He has done for me. Not satisfied with  shedding His Precious Blood on Calvary’s Hill to  wash away my sins, Glory to His name and bap-  tizing me with the Holy Ghost, Praise Him, He in  His great love also healed my body.

For five years I had been suffering from a tuber-  cular knee, which kept me in hospital for nearly two  years, and the surgeons even suggested amputation.  But the Lord made me whole again, instantaneously,  in the most miraculous manner after being prayed for  by Sister McPherson.

And now I can kneel down on both my knees (a  thing I could not do for nearly five years) and Praise  my Saviour. Glory ! He also healed me of abdom-  inal trouble for which I had undergone two oper-  ations without any apparent amelioration. But the  Great Surgeon did not fail. Praise His name !

So I am born again in my soul and in my body.

Oh, my Precious Redeemer, how I love Him, how  I want to serve Him, and Praise Him for His great  love for me! (Mrs.) Eva Quenneville, San Diego,

Calif.

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Sagged Stomach, Curvature of Spine and Floating  Kidneys healed I want to give a testimony of what  the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me, here at Sister  McPherson’s meeting, August 17. I was wonderful-  ly healed of a sagged stomach, curved spine and a  floating kidney. My food would decay in the stom-  ach before digesting. This came on me suddenly and  in eight months I lost 50 pounds of flesh. Dr. Dray  of the Franklin Hospital, San Francisco, has six XT  ray plates of my stomach. He has been my physician  for four years, so three months ago I was very ill  and went to his hospital. This time, he told me I  would have to have an operation to make an opening  for the food to digest out, and not have to make the  curve.

I told him No. I would wait a while. He also  said I could have the X-ray plates at any time to  send my brother who is a physician in New York.

Oh, now I am so glad, I did wait, for Jesus Christ  has healed me forever. Now my food digests and  I can eat anything. Praise the Lord. I am now  going to work for Jesus and He will be my Healer.

I have the Faith. Halleujah, Praise the Lord.

Amen. Mrs. Ida Keister, 41 Little Delmas, San  Jose, Calif.

Edwards’ Tire Shop,

Main St., Livermore, Cal.

Sept. 3rd, 1921.

Am writing this to add my testimony to all the  others who have been healed by God through your  faithful work in San Jose. I had injured some mus-  cles in my left arm and had my arm in different

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casts for six months. On last Good Friday you  anointed my arm and true to God’s Word He healed  it. I came back to Livermore and went to work the  next morning using the arm same as the other  for which I certainly give God the praise. Your  friend in Christ^ J. Edwards.

San Jose, Cal. Sept. 9, 1921.

Mrs. A. S. McPherson :

My Dear Sister : I must tell what my dear Master  has done for me, glory to his precious name. On  August 14 I received a telegram from San Francisco

to come to the Hospital  and have my knee cap  broken open, and wired  back in shape. I at-  tended all of your most  w o n d e rful meetings.  God bless you. Waiting  there two weeks, seek-  ing perfect Faith, 1  then decided to trust it to Jesus 7 love, instead of the  Hospital, for they were the cause of so much  suffering. And Glory ! Glory ! Glory ! Glory, to  the precious name of Jesus, He took all the pain away  instantly, and I could feel the pus melt away, while  you anointed and prayed for me, then I could feel  the bones slipping back in shape. I don’t know how  to thank and praise my Lord and Saviour enough.  I could write a book, or preach a sermon on what

the Lord has done for me, but I know that you are

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1. A. McMillan

too busy to listen to me preach now. I am going  out into the Lord’s work soon. I can hardly hold  back any longer, I must close in Jesus’ Love, Truly  yours, C. A. McMillan, 781 Chestnut St., San Jose,  Calif.

Cancer and Eyes Healed I praise the Lord for  healing me of cancer of the breast, failing eyesight  and extreme nervousness on the night of August 17,  1921 in San Jose, California when I was anointed and  prayed for by Mrs. McPherson.

I first began to have  pain in my breast seven  years ago and went to  many doctors. I went  to Camp Wildwood to  Dr. Howard but after  some treatments I was  no better. I also went  to Honolulu to a spe-  cialist but still I was  no better. The pain  grew worse and worse

until the pain went

down my arm too and

Mrs. Marian N. Bishop j had a terrib l e burning

in the breast and also a perfectly hard lump the size  of an egg.

During this time, my eyesight was failing more and  more until I couldn’t see to thread a needle even with  strong glasses. My glasses were becoming of less  and less use to me until I feared I was going blind.

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I became so nervous I could hardly bear it. I cried  continually not knowing why, and lost interest in  everything and was so discouraged my husband did  not know what to do with me.

But my husband had great faith too and when the  campaign started, we both went to the altar at the  first meeting and reconscecrated our lives to Jesus.  Every meeting my faith increased until before I went  up to be prayed for, I felt the power of God through  my whole body until I thought I would fall. The  pain in my breast stopped at once and I felt the can-  cer swiftly melt away and it has never returned.

Glory to Jesus ! My eyesight returned at once and  1 have not worn my glasses since. One of my friends  doubted my healing and the next day said to me,  “If you can thread this fine needle I will be con-  vinced that you are healed. ” I took this fine needle  and prayed silently, “Lord, help me to thread it”  and the thread went through the first try. Praise  the Lord !

The next day when I got up, I prayed that the  Lord would increase my strength so I could get my  work done and get to the meetings. The Lord gave  me even more time than I had hoped for and I did  my washing, put up pickles; got all my morning  work done and was at the tent at one o ‘clock ready  for the meeting.

All my nervousness is gone and I am a changed  woman. Glory to Jesus! I am happier than ever  before in my life and feel perfectly well. Praise the  Lord forever! The cancer is entirely gone. Halle-  lujah. MBS. MARIAN N. BISHOP, San Jose,

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Loeomotor Ataxia Healed I am ANNA STEIN  BRINK, my permanent address is Dinuba, Tulare  County, California.

For twelve years I have had attacks of locomotor  ataxia, walking backwards, and limbs trembling  when trying to walk. At one time the attack lasted  an entire year. Doctors in various places could not  understand it. They said the disease was very rare ;  and they have made all sorts of tests, but in vain.

When the attack came I was not able to stand for  ten days or two weeks and was filled with pain. Af-  ter sitting for awhile I could not walk without going  backward. Folks said I would get there quicker if  I turned around. Sometimes I lost my speech during  these attacks.

I also suffered much for the last four months from  rheumatism, with fingers swollen so that I could  not close my hands, and could barely raise my arms.

To add to my suffering there was a broken bone in  my ankle. When brought to the platform for pray-  ers I was suffering from one of my above mentioned  attacks and had to be supported. I was instantly  healed when prayed for, and all of the pain left my  body. I could close fingers, raise my arm and walk  perfectly. HALLELUJAH! It is a new world to  me!

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The Sailor Boy Whose Lung Was Healed

Dear Sister :

Just a few lines to let you know that we in San  Diego are still keeping you in remembrance, and are  following your campaigns with our prayers. Oh, we  do pray for you, sister, and for the blessed outpour-  ing of His Holy Spirit in all your meetings.

Perhaps it will be of some help to some-  one who is seeking more faith to know  that my lung that was restored is still  as good as ever, Praise His Loving Grace.

I have never had another hemorrhage  since it was healed, and have gained 46  pounds, although I am working every  day. The Blessed Lord has given me a  definite call to His service, and I expect  to enter Drew Seminary to prepare for  the missionary field the latter part of  September.

James R. Flood

The bearer of this letter, Miss Embry, is one  who wishes you to anoint and dedicate her to  His service. I am sending by her to your mother  one of my pictures as you do not seem to have  gotten the ones that were sent by mail as you asked.  May He use my testimony for His glory is my con-  stant prayer.

A group of young .folks who were working at your  meetings here have been carrying on the work at  the Little Normal Heights Church here, together with  Brother Weyant, the pastor, and we have received

some wonderful blessings from the Lord and some

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souls saved. Praise the Lord. We hold fasting, pray-  er and tarrying meetings every Monday night, for  those seeking the Blessed Baptism and Spiritual  and physical healing, and He has been with us won-  derfully. We hope that when you find time to come  to San Diego again you will not forget the Normal  Heights M. E. Church.

God’s blessing be with you, sister, and with your  dear mother.

Sincerely,

JAMES R. FLOOD,

2046 30th St., San Diego, Cal.

Much widespread interest was aroused during the  San Diego revival by the testimony of the sailor boy  whose gas mask was pierced in France so that he  lay unconscious for hours, bleeding at mouth and nos-  trils. His officers sent him home and on to San Diego  to die. Ex-ray photos showed the lung to be with-  ered to the size of a goose egg and hanging to the  bronchial tubes. Constant hemorraghes from the  other lung made life a misery to the suffering lad.  Jesus healed him in answer to prayer insomuch that  the withered lung was instantly restored to life, in-  flated fully, and he sang aloud and shouted for joy.  Our readers may ask, “Do the healings last?’ 7 The  above will speak for itself. Editor.

I Want To Give You My Testimony of receiving  my Baptism of the Holy Ghost, right away after you  preached that wonderful sermon of yesterday. I felt  the Power coming on me, I started for my room a few

blocks away and I praised Jesus all the way to my

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room under the power, so mightily I thought my feet  would slip from under me and let me down on the  sidewalk but, Praise God, He held me up until I got  to my room and He poured rivers of water till He  filled me full, and overflowing until my cup ran over  and Glory to Jesus, I spoke in tongues and rejoiced  in the Lord, praising Jesus.

I am in my sixty-seventh year and am one of those  old people that will testify for Jesus. MES. J. B.

SMITH, 742 Pacfic Ave., Alameda, Cal.

Saved and Baptized. I was greatly privileged in  finding myself at San Jose while the meetings were  in progress. I did not go there to attend the meeting.  My time of vacation was at hand and I had some  business to look after. This was what led me to the  city of San Jose so I thought but I found it was  the Spirit of God.

I said I will go to the meeting on Monday night  and Tuesday night and then go on my way, but Mon-  day night was “Healing” night. Something like fif-  ty of lame, halt, blind, deaf, many kinds of the af-  flicted were healed. The blind received their sight,  the deaf heard, the lame walked. Jesus was there  in mighty power. I saw a deaf and dumb girl made  well insomuch that she both heard and spoke. What  was I that I should withstand God. I became a seek-  er and tarried for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and  my new experience is wonderful.

I am very happy to witness the wonderful way Je-  sus is using Mrs. McPherson, and the sweet spiritual

pastor of the First Baptist Church, Dr. Towner. God

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bless them. (Signed) E. E. CLEVENGER,, Madera,  Cal.

The Deaf Hear I have been deaf in my right ear  for twenty-five years, and in the left ear two years,  as a result of grippe and neuralgia. Specialists said  the eardrum was destroyed.

I heard of the meetings of Sister McPherson in  San Jose and for three weeks I prayed to get here to  be healed. Praise the Lord, He opened the way !

When our sister prayed for me, I was healed in-  stantly. Hallelujah!

As soon as these wonderful meetings, so filled with  the power of God, are ended, I am going home to  spread the glad news, and work for my Lord.  (Signed) A. B. DEAN, Route A, Box 247, Atwater,  California.