The Difference Is Demonstration

…district board, for the privilege to be here with all of you. We love the Louisiana District. Louisiana District has always been so kind to us and supported us throughout our ministry, overseas and around the world. We're so thankful for all of you, and thankful that my family's able to be with me and just enjoy camp meeting. I got in a day late, but I was tuned in online watching live — enjoying Brother Huntley, our Bible teacher every morning. I'm just thankful for his ministry, thankful for his voice in our movement. They had a reserved sign for me back here as a speaker, and they had me parked right next to where it said Wayne Huntley. I drove up and I kind of chuckled and laughed. I told him, "I'm preaching camp meeting with Brother Wayne Huntley — before this is over, I'm gonna have to get out and get a picture with Brother Huntley." I have always admired his ministry, and I'm so thankful for his voice in our movement, which has shaped my life and my ministry since I first started watching VHS messages from the Huntleys from around our movement. So thankful that his voice is so strong in our movement today. And thankful for the hosting, for these wonderful volunteers that are here — you have all been so kind to us. Jonathan Walker has been here from the moment I walked in the door, just serving, and the team that is serving all over these campgrounds — just amazing what you guys do here.

I want to go to the Word of the Lord together: First Corinthians chapter two. Sister [Spates], thank you so much for the Word of the Lord this morning — what a powerful word. First Corinthians chapter two, verse four: "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. I want to talk to us for a few moments that the difference is demonstration. Before we leave here today, we're going to believe that God is going to demonstrate his power right here among us. If you're here today and you need a miracle, if you're here today and you need the Holy Ghost, if you're here today and you need deliverance — today is the day of deliverance. Throughout this day, the Holy Ghost is going to begin to break chains, and he's going to demonstrate his power to us. If you believe that, one more time lift up your hands and let's thank him in advance for what he's going to do.

Lord Jesus, we thank you in advance for what you're going to do. I take dominion and authority over every doubt and fear, everything that is contrary to your Word — I bind it in the name of Jesus. I loose faith in this place. We thank you in advance for what you are going to do. We open our hearts and our spirits to receive your Word this morning. Let your Word be confirmed today with signs following, in the name of Jesus. In Jesus' name, let's clap our hands to Jesus one more time. Hallelujah, hallelujah, Jesus. You may be seated in the name of Jesus.

From the beginning of time, there has only been one God, and this is the truth that we have held on to: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." This revelation is what separated the people of God from everyone else — their belief and understanding that God is one. The first of the Ten Commandments states, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." In the Word of God, there's always a distinction made between the only living God and everything else. It's true that pagan deities were usually represented by statues made of wood or stone or precious metals, but the Bible never puts such idols in the category of true deities. The Bible rather mocks all such attempts to identify these lifeless chunks of wood or metal as gods. Jeremiah 10 and 14 says every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false and there is no breath in them. Deuteronomy 4 and 28 speaks of gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. Jeremiah said their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil — neither is it in them to do good. I believe the language of the first commandment is simply driving home this point: do not try to put any humanly devised or man-made so-called deity in the same arena with the one and only true and living God — the God that is most high. That means he is above all things, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And Scripture makes the distinction that the God we serve is a God who speaks. This God was different from everything else, from everyone else. The Old Testament records God speaking through a burning bush; he speaks through a thick cloud, but also he spoke in a gentle whisper. The God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets — this God that we serve today still speaks to us; he still whispers those words to us. Scripture points out time and again that God was different from any other god. This God also was a God who hears. The people cried out in their suffering, and God heard their cries, the Bible said. When we cried out to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us up out of Egypt. The Bible says, "Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will rescue you." "I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry." "In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God; he heard my voice out of his temple." "Certainly God has heard me." The God that we serve is a God who still hears us when we open up our mouth and proclaim his name, when we cry out to him, when we ask of him. He has been an invisible God, but he has always been made visible through his mighty acts and a demonstration of his power.

The difference between this God and everything else has always been a demonstration. Where others had their so-called gods, the difference between our God and everything else has always been demonstration. The difference between the true God and all the imposters was demonstration. Baal could not call down fire from heaven, but the true God demonstrated his power through fire, as fire fell from heaven. The Philistines had Dagon, but the statue of Dagon fell broken in the presence of the Almighty God. The Egyptians had [Hapi], the god of the Nile, but with a powerful demonstration the Nile was suddenly turned to blood — because the God that we serve is constantly demonstrating who he is.

And in the New Testament, that God became flesh. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3 and 16: "And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." He came into this world demonstrating that he was God. Angels proclaimed his deity; a star appeared in the sky. He turned water into wine; he healed the nobleman's son; he healed the man at the pool; he fed the five thousand; he walked on water; he healed a man that was born blind; he resurrected Lazarus. And when John the Baptist was questioning who he was, Jesus pointed to the demonstration as evidence of his identity. He says in John 7:22, "Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard: how that 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 after his death, burial, and resurrection, again he demonstrated who he was. He showed himself to Thomas: "Look at my hands; put your hand in my side." He appeared to the eleven disciples on the mountain; he joined two disciples on the road to Emmaus. And before he ascended to heaven, he said, "I want you to go and wait for a demonstration" — in Acts 1 and 4: "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." He says, "I'm going away, but there's going to be another demonstration of who I am and my Spirit." And so we know, on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter two and verse one: "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire" — demonstrating that something was beginning to happen — "and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Wherever the Spirit of God is, there will always be a demonstration of his Spirit. Wherever the Spirit of God moves, there will always be something tangible.

Some churches are satisfied with no demonstration. Some are satisfied to come in on Sunday, go through the few songs, share a little bit of the Scripture, and leave without a demonstration of his Spirit. But there is something within me that I have always had a hunger for. I said, "God, I don't want to come into your presence without seeing a manifestation of your glory. Lord, I'm not coming together just to worship and to leave the same — I want to have a demonstration of your power." There's been something always within me that said, "I want to see, every Sunday — I want to see someone baptized; I want to see somebody repent; I want to see someone receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; I want to see someone delivered. I want to see a demonstration of the Spirit of God." I'm not satisfied to have church as normal, if I serve a God who's willing to demonstrate who he is. So I say, "God, show up today. Lord, let us see a manifestation of your presence."

We, as the church, have been called to demonstrate his kingdom. Everything that a king rules is called his dominion or territory, so the kingdom of God is the manifestation of the spiritual realm that demonstrates his lordship, his dominion, and his will. The church is not the kingdom, but rather the agency through which the kingdom of God is extended. It can't be a king without a dominion and subjects. Jesus taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." What is his kingdom? We understand it's a supernatural kingdom. John 18 and 36 says, "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world." But I believe the kingdom of God is revealed visibly through miracles, signs, and wonders. When people are being set free, when people are being delivered, we are seeing a manifestation of the kingdom of God. Matthew 12 and 28 says, "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." It's a kingdom of power. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 4 and 20, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." The kingdom of God is not meant merely to be words — when the kingdom of God is preached, there must be a demonstration of his power. When I preach the Word of God, there must be a demonstration. If there's not a demonstration, then maybe I'm not preaching the kingdom of God. Because I believe that when we preach the Word of God and we begin to demonstrate his kingdom — when people are being set free, when people are being delivered — what they are beginning to see is a demonstration of what the kingdom of God is. In the kingdom of God there is no sickness; in the kingdom of God there is no death; in the kingdom of God there is no sin. But when people come in contact with the kingdom of God, all of a sudden God shows up and he demonstrates. He says, "Let me show you my kingdom. In my kingdom, there's healing for the sick. In my kingdom, there's deliverance for those that are bound. In my kingdom, I will demonstrate who I am to you." It's a kingdom of power. First Thessalonians 1 and 5: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power." So each time the kingdom is preached, there must be a visible demonstration of God's power — to heal the sick, to deliver the captives and the oppressed, and to save the lost. When Jesus preached, he demonstrated the power of the kingdom with signs, wonders, and miracles, and he cast out devils. Each time he announced that kingdom, sickness had to go, death had to go, sin had to go, demons had to go — sin, sickness, demons, death come from Satan's kingdom. Jesus steps on the scene and begins to establish his kingdom. He says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and Jesus began to demonstrate the kingdom of God. He cast out devils; he says, "This is the kingdom," and he begins to establish his kingdom.

But before he ascends into heaven, he delegates his authority to the church to continue to expand the kingdom. He says in Acts 1 and 8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Power for what? Power to expand the kingdom, and to demonstrate the kingdom — that everywhere you go, there is power working within you. You receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost not just to speak in other tongues; you receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost to be able to demonstrate the kingdom of God. Every place that you walk into, you're there to demonstrate the kingdom — to say, "Hey, in the kingdom that I come from, in the kingdom that I represent, there's healing; in the kingdom that I represent, there's deliverance." Every place you walk into, he says, "I've given you power to demonstrate the kingdom." That's why Paul said, 1 Corinthians 2 and 4: "My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."

Pastor, minister — I know there is a pressure at times to perform. There's a pressure that's there every Sunday, it's there every Wednesday, to preach something new, to preach something that no one's ever heard before. There's a pressure at times to perform, and to get it as eloquently put together as you can — and I'm not against trying to put it together; I try my best to put my thoughts together, or the thoughts that the Lord gives me. But there is at times that pressure to perform, and the Lord didn't ask us to perform. He asked us to demonstrate the kingdom of God. You may not have a high education; you may not be able to put all your thoughts together; but if you can have a demonstration of the power of God, that's something that will make a difference. I've seen people that I didn't know which way they were coming or going; I didn't know when the message was beginning, I didn't know where the message was ending — but all I know is, when they said, "We're gonna stand and pray," all of a sudden there was a trembling in the atmosphere, and the power of God would sweep into that place. And I say, "I don't even know what he preached, but I know something's about to happen in this place." People are looking for a demonstration of the power of God. People are looking for something that's gonna break their chains. Most of you who came into church, that God delivered you — you probably can't even remember what the preacher preached that night. All you know is that there was a power in the atmosphere, and chains began to fall off of you. If you pastors and preachers would get that into your spirit and realize — "Hey, I'm gonna try to get it together, but at the end, Lord, let there be a demonstration of your power; let there be chains that begin to fall off" — I bind that spirit of pressure that would try to get on the pastors and preachers of our movement to perform. God did not call us to perform; he called us to demonstrate the kingdom of God — share the Word of God, and then say, "Lord, let your Spirit begin to move." We need a demonstration in this place. Lord, show up in this place. The difference is always a demonstration.

I was in a church — not south of here, I guess, because it's going to the Gulf — I was in a church, and I was preaching my best that I thought I could have. I was preaching faith, I was preaching deliverance, I was preaching that God could do anything. And I know you probably never face this, but they didn't believe a word I was preaching. Everywhere you go, they all believe it — but where I was that night, they didn't believe nothing. I'm preaching, and I'm getting frustrated, and I'm preaching that God's a healer, I'm preaching that God could deliver. I couldn't get an amen. I'm sweating, I'm shouting, I'm trying to work something up, and there's nothing working up. Finally I closed it. I said, "You all can stand. It's very apparent you don't believe a word I'm saying. However, if there's anyone that would need a miracle and believes somewhat of what I'm saying, if you would come around the front, we'll pray for you, and then we'll dismiss." From the back came a lady; she was a visitor. She came walking down to the front, all by her lonesome. She stood at the front. I said, "Ma'am, what is it that you need from God?" She said, "I'm deaf in my ear — I was born deaf — and I've heard you preaching about miracles, and I believe that God could open my deaf ear." I was a little mad, and I looked at the congregation. I said, "Just so you know: what I am preaching is the truth. God is going to open her ear, and he's gonna demonstrate who he is to you." I still couldn't get an amen. I said, "Ma'am, lift your hands. We're simply gonna pray and believe that God can do this." She lifted her hands. I said, "Lord, that they may know who you are, that they may know of your power — Lord, I command this deaf ear to open right now, in the name of Jesus; let it be done right now, in Jesus' name." All of a sudden, that deaf ear popped open. She turned around and looked at the congregation. She said, "Oh, my goodness — it worked!" All of a sudden, faith began to rise in the building. There was a man in overalls who came down to the front — he had tears down his face, and he said, "This is my daughter. You don't understand — she was born, they told us she doesn't even have bone in that ear. There's no way that this could happen." His daughter said, "It's happened — I can hear!" All of a sudden, faith began to fill the room, and miracles and signs began to happen, because God is willing to demonstrate who he is. The pressure's not on you; the pressure's on him. It's just his Word. I just believe that God will do what he said. I just believe that God desires to demonstrate his power.

A lady walked into our church — her name was Luisa. Luisa came in; the first time, she came in for healing. It was after church — she wasn't even in the service; she came in late, she'd missed the service. There were some ladies there having a little prayer meeting after church. She came in and said, "I need prayer. I've got stage-four cancer, and I don't have much hope." The ladies gathered her in the prayer circle, and they began to tell her: "We believe that God can do miracles. We believe that God can heal you." She had never been in a church service before, but the ladies of the church just grabbed her hand and said, "Hey, we're gonna pray right here, and we're gonna believe that God can do a miracle. I know it looks bad, but we serve a God who will demonstrate his power. We serve a God who can take the cancer away." They got there in a prayer circle, they began to hold hands, and all of a sudden the power of God moved in — there was a demonstration of the power of God. Luisa said, "I felt fire that started at the top of my head, and it began to go through my body all the way down to my feet. Something has happened."

Luisa's situation was this: she worked as help in the home of a doctor in Barcelona who was one of the heads of cancer research in Barcelona. When she was diagnosed, they told Luisa, "Hey, I'm part of a cancer research program, and if you want, I can get you into a study. It's probably not gonna help much, but it might prolong your life a little longer, so that you can be with your son a little bit longer." So she entered into that cancer research project, which shared the findings with a group of doctors that was also in New York. Because of her being in this study, every week they would go in and do new blood tests, new tests to see the progression, to see if these new drugs were working — every week it was a whole new workup of everything. She went in, as was the custom, that next week right after that Sunday service, and they did the workup. They came back to Luisa and said, "Luisa, now you've got to tell us what has happened." She said, "What do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean, what has happened?" They said, "There's something — you've done something different. Have you taken something? Because we cannot find any cancer in your body." Luisa said, "All I did was, I just went down to the church, and some ladies prayed for me." They said, "No, that couldn't be it. You've got to tell us what has been going on, Luisa. You've got to understand how important your answers are, because you've been getting this free treatment for this study, and if you have been doing something different, it's gonna mess up the whole study all the way to New York. You've got to make sure that you tell us the truth." She said, "All I did is, I went down and some ladies prayed for me, and I started feeling fire from the top of my head to my feet." One of the other doctors came in, and they began to threaten her. They said, "You need to tell us, or we're going to sue you. You're about to mess up our whole study, and we're gonna make you pay back all the money that we have invested in this study, if you don't tell us what has happened." She came into my office. She said, "Pastor, what do I tell them? All I did was get prayer." I gave her my card. I said, "Give my card to the doctors — if they want to hear about what Jesus can do, they can give me a call." You see, we serve a God who's willing to demonstrate who he is. There are people that may not understand it, but God will demonstrate. He desires to show himself.

I was at a university, preaching at a university, and it was a mixed group of people there — people from the university, people from the local church. I was preaching about a God that could do anything: God that could do miracles, God that could do signs and wonders. Preaching to these university students, I noticed on the second row a young girl who had her head down, her hands on the chair in front of her, her head down. I felt the Holy Ghost prompt me to pray for her. The Lord didn't tell me what to pray for; I just simply went down and said, "Excuse me — would it be okay if I pray for you?" She said yes. I said, "Let me grab your hands, and I'm going to pray for you." I didn't really have direction on what to pray; I just said, "Lord, let your Spirit fall over this girl and demonstrate who you are to her, in the name of Jesus." I walked away and prayed for other people. The Lord did different miracles, different things in that service. But the girl who had brought her that night brought her up to me. Now, I know this sounds crazy — I haven't told this story very many places, because some people don't believe it — but we serve a God that can do anything. I quit trying to figure out how God does things. I don't know; it's beyond my understanding, beyond my comprehension, what God can do. If God can heal a headache, God can heal cancer. If God can heal cancer, he can cause limbs to grow. I don't know how God does it, but God is constantly looking to demonstrate his power and to show himself. That girl came up to me, and her friend — she said, "My friend has got to tell you a story. This is my friend — she's an atheist, and I convinced her to come." The atheist began to tell me: "I was standing there when you came up to me. I tried to pray a little bit, and I said, 'God, if all of this is real — Lord, I have this little tattoo on my hand. Could you take that off for me?'" Tears began to run down her face. She held out her hand and said, "Look — it's almost gone, and it's beginning to fade right now." Before I could even think, I said, "What God has started, God will finish. Give me your hands one more time, and let's pray together that God will complete what he's already done. Lord, that she may know who you are — that she may have a demonstration that you are God, and only you. Lord, I pray that this tattoo would continue to fade and disappear, right now, in the name of Jesus." Then I stopped praying. I said, "Now rub your hand, and let's see what Jesus has done." She rubbed her hand, and all of a sudden tears ran down her face, and she said, "It's gone! It's gone!" I don't understand how God does that. All I know is that God is willing to demonstrate his power. No, it wasn't a miracle of healing — but it was a miracle to someone who wanted to see, "Is God really real?" And God, in his love, said, "I'm willing to demonstrate to you that I am real."

I want us all to stand. The difference is a demonstration. Quit worrying about how pretty your sermon is, and start praying for a demonstration. I'm not saying don't study, don't try to get it together — but at the end, say, "Lord, we need a demonstration of who you are." When you preach and it feels like it's been a flop, and no one believes it and no one understands it, close your Bible and say, "All right, Lord — now we need a demonstration of who you are."

I found out very quickly that if we were going to have revival in Europe, it would be because there would be a demonstration of who he was. I found very quickly that people were more religious than I was — very religious, going to Mass and going to the different things. Religion wasn't going to work. When I first went, I couldn't even speak the language. I remember the first time someone came up to me, after about a year of preaching in Spanish, and the lady said, "Man, I understood everything you said today." I was like, "Man, thank you, I appreciate that — I've been preaching for a year, and people have understood a word I'm saying" — the thing that made the difference is, even when they might not have understood but half of what I was saying — I was trying to stumble through Spanish in the beginning, just trying to read my notes, saying words I didn't even know what they meant, fumbling through things — at the end, I'd give an altar call and say, "All right, now we're gonna pray that God would demonstrate who he is." Miracles began to happen: signs, wonders, and miracles. People would come in — I was 22 when we first went; I looked about 12 — and people would come in and say, "Who's the pastor of that church?" And they'd say, "Oh, that kid right over there — he's the pastor of this church." They'd look around and say, "Oh — everybody else is okay with it, I guess we'll be okay with it." I couldn't really speak Spanish too well, but all we know is, at the end, when he gives the altar call, something starts to move, and God begins to do the miraculous. Chains are broken, and people are delivered. They didn't come to my church because I was a good preacher. They didn't come to my church because I could speak good Spanish. They came to the church because they knew there's gonna be a demonstration of the Holy Ghost at the end.

I've watched it — and you've had it as pastors as well. I've had young ministers that got up, and it's just been a disaster. I'm thinking, "My goodness — I don't know. I hope the people are getting something." But as they began to minister, the Holy Ghost began to move, and tears began to run down people's faces. I said, "Okay — they may not understand what he's saying, and I don't understand what he's saying, but the Holy Ghost is here, and God's about to show up, and miracles are about to happen." And all of a sudden you get that feeling of excitement — you're like, "Oh, something big is about to happen," and you just start looking around: "Where's it gonna happen, Lord? It's about to happen around here somewhere." The people that are healed, the people that are delivered, the people that are set free — they don't care who's preaching. They just care about an encounter with Jesus and a demonstration of the power of God.

We have planted church after church, and many of those church plants began as home groups. In those home groups, we're just some believers sharing the Word, and then saying, "You know what — now we're gonna pray for a miracle." And God doing miracles — cancers disappearing, deaf ears opening, blind eyes opening — and all of a sudden, the home group gets a little bigger. They wouldn't even come to my church, but they'd keep coming to the home group, because they didn't know me, they didn't know about our church, but they knew that there was a demonstration at the house group every Saturday. They'd fill up the house group, and I'd tell the house group, "Hey, your house group's filling up — let's get them down to the church." "Well, I'm trying, Pastor, but they're coming." Finally I had to realize, "All right — we're just gonna have to start a church over there." And that's how we started over twelve [other] works, because of things happening in homes: a demonstration of the Holy Ghost, just believers. "These signs shall follow them that believe" — are there any believers here? "These signs shall follow them that believe; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." The crazy thing is, the people in my church didn't realize that only the preachers had the power of the Holy Ghost to lay hands on the sick — I forgot to tell them at the inception of the church! And they believed that these signs shall follow them that believe; they believed that God wanted to demonstrate his power through the body. And because of that, now there are revivals breaking out throughout all of Europe, because God is beginning to demonstrate.

Pastor, saint of God: don't settle on Sunday just to have service — but, "Lord, we want a demonstration of your power. Let someone be delivered; let someone repent; let someone be set free; let a miracle happen today." On this day of deliverance — Friday — if you need a miracle in your body, I want you to begin to come around the front, and here in just a moment we're going to pray the prayer of faith. If you need deliverance, you need healing, I want you to begin to gather around the front. Because if we're going to talk about a demonstration, we need to have a demonstration. If we're going to preach about a God that heals, we're going to pray for the sick. Don't ever preach about a God who does miracles and then close your Bible and say, "Well, we're not praying for anybody this morning — we'll see y'all next Sunday." Whatever you preach: if you preach repentance, give a chance for the Holy Ghost to move and for repentance to happen; if you preach about miracles, when you close your Bible say, "All right — now we're going to have a demonstration"; if you preach about the Holy Ghost, when you get done, close the Bible and say, "All right — now we're going to pray for the Holy Ghost to fall in this place"; if you preach about deliverance, when you close your Bible, say, "All right — now we're going to pray that God demonstrates, that he begins to deliver." Never close your Bible and say, "Well, that was a good thought — I'll see you next Sunday." No — we want a demonstration of the power of God. Take just two steps forward. We're going to pray here. We're not begging God to heal; we're not begging God to deliver. By faith, he is our healer; by faith, he is our deliverer. If you need healing in your body, if you have pain in your body, if you've got a deaf ear, you've got a blind eye — whatever the case may be — in just a moment when we pray, you're going to lift your hands and you're going to say, "Lord, thank you for being my healer. Thank you, Jesus, for being my deliverer. Thank you, Lord, for opening up this ear."

On this past Sunday, I was with a young man who had lost hearing years ago because of fireworks that had blown up in his hand — caused deafness in his ear. Just this last Sunday in Atlanta, as we began to pray, he just said, "Lord, thank you for restoring that hearing. Thank you, Lord, that you're my deliverer." All of a sudden, that deaf ear popped open — because our God loves to deliver. He loves to demonstrate who he is. But we're not going to beg God. We're not going to say, "Lord, if it's your will, heal me; Lord, if it's your will, touch me." No — we're going to say, "God, you're my deliverer. God, you're my healer. Lord, I thank you for healing my body. Lord, I thank you for demonstrating your love," even here this morning. If you need healing in your body, if you need deliverance in your mind, I want you to lift up both your hands as a sign of surrender. I want you to lift your head toward heaven, ready to receive. I want you to close your eyes so you can focus on Jesus. And as you begin to worship, as you begin to praise, we're going to pray the prayer of faith, and healing and deliverance are going to begin to happen right now, in the name of Jesus. Right now, by the power and the authority of the Word of God, and in the name of Jesus, I take dominion and authority over every sickness and bondage, in the name of Jesus. I loose miracles in Jesus' name. Let us go, in the name of Jesus. Be healed, in Jesus' name.

So that's it — that's it. Begin to thank him. Begin to thank him.

Let's all clap our hands to Jesus, all across this place. Hallelujah! Now, if we're going to pray about something, let's have enough faith to test it. If God wants to do a healing, he can do a healing — but I am always looking for a demonstration. So if you came up needing healing in your body, there are some things you may not be able to check until you go to the doctor, until you go home. But if there's a physical way to try it now, I want you to go ahead and take a step of faith — because many times the miracle happens not when we have prayed initially, but when we put faith into action and say, "Now we prayed about it — let me test it, let me move it, let me see if something has changed." Because when we put that faith into action, many times that's when the miracle begins to happen. So if you came up here with pain in your body, begin to look for that pain. If you had back problems, [test] the problem — look for it. If you couldn't raise your hand, try to raise your hand. If it was an ear problem, test that ear. If it was an eye problem — test it, look for it. Some things you may not be able to check until later. But if God has already done it this morning — if God has already — I'm not asking you to make something up — but if God has already healed your body this morning, lift your hand that God's already done it. God's already done it.

That's our Jesus, just demonstrating that he's God, and he alone. That's just him demonstrating that he has all power. Lift your hands and begin to thank him. Begin to shout: "Lord, I thank you that you are God."