Now lay your hand on your ears.  In the authority of the name of Jesus, everyone that has this loss of hearing, the deafness on one side or both sides and you’re reading my lips tonight or you have this blockage, in the authority of Jesus’ name—at least 17 people are receiving healing in their ear right now.  In the authority of Jesus’ name, ears, open up.  Deafness, come out, and it’s coming out in the authority of Jesus’ name.

It’s like warm oil is being poured into someone’s ears right now, and suddenly you feel your ears, you say, “Wow, it’s like my ear is draining.”  That’s healing coming into your ears right now.

And there’s a cataract that just fell off someone’s eye.  You’ve been completely blurred and now all of a sudden, it’s just like someone turned the lights on.

In the name of Jesus, I speak the word to glaucoma and to cataracts and blindness and this coreoretinitis.  In the name of Jesus, be thou made whole, w-h-o-l-e.  Be healed in your eyes, and somebody’s getting healed of blindness right now.  Somebody, you’re blind in one eye, and all of a sudden your eye is opening.  I can see you.  I can see you sitting there watching tonight.  You’re being healed, in the authority of Jesus’ name.

Now there’s lungs.  God’s going to do Holy Ghost surgery on lungs right now.  Lay your hand on yourself, you suffering with emphysema, with any type of asthma or breathing problems or you’re on some type of oxygen tonight and it’s almost like you’ve been waiting to die.

That’s what you were talking about, how I hear in my spirit.  It’s like you’re waiting to die because you can’t get your breath.  You can’t even move without the oxygen.  In the name of Jesus Christ, I send His word to you tonight.  He sends His word and brings healing.

“I’m on top of my game,” Elijah must have said, when he got a voicemail from a woman named Jezebel, “About this time tomorrow, I’m going to kill you. I’m going to do to you what you have done to my prophets.” One voicemail took him out.

How many voicemails have taken you out? How many messages have you received? How many times have you been in a situation when right in the midst of victory, you have been snatched into the jaws of defeat? When you thought everything was up high, suddenly the bottom fell out. As Frank Sinatra used to say, “Riding high in April, shot down in May.”

How many times have you faced it? How many times have I faced it? And what have you done when you faced it? Did you do what Elijah did, because he did what most Christians do. He ran. Any of you ever run? Don’t put up your hand. I will not ask you that question.

He ran, first to a tree, where he wanted to die. Some of you have come to this conference and you feel like dying. You’ve been dying on the inside in your ministry, and you have said by your mouth, “I have got to have a word from God, or I’m quitting.” You may be the reason why I told that story about that fleece, those three fleeces by my father. That was a word in season for someone here tonight.

And then when the tree didn’t bring results, he found himself in a cave, until God spoke to him and said what He said to me in that dormitory room at the University of Kansas, “What are you doing here? I’ve not called you to be here. I’ve called you to be there.

“Get over yourself, Elijah. Get over your critics. Get over those who are seeking to destroy your life and ministry. Stop whining and griping and complaining and having a pity party for yourself. So somebody burst your little pretty balloon. So what? Who cares?

“Get off this mountain, and do what I have told you to do. Elijah, your destiny is not here; it’s there. Anoint Hazael to be king and anoint Jehu to be king and anoint Elisha to take your place. Get back into the rhythm of ministry. Get back into the rhythm of living. Get back to being obedient and doing what I told you to do.”

I was teaching this recently to a group of students in my class, which I teach each semester on the Charismatic Life and the Healing Ministry.  And I said to them what I will say to you.  The gifts of the Spirit flow through virtually every born-again believer, at the will of the Spirit in His timing, whichever gift He decides, whenever He decides.

But oftentimes our tendency is when that happens to say, “Well, I wonder what that was?”  Or “WOW, that was sure different.” Or “Where did that thought come from?” Or “I could never say that.”  And we suppress it; we hold it down.  And the bottom-line result is people do not get blessed as a result of it.

More and more I’m being asked by ministers to speak on the subject of the gifts of the Spirit: how they operate, how they don’t operate. And those of you who say, “Well, those things don’t operate in my life.”   You’ll find that they ARE operating; you’re just holding them down.

I want you to write three things down this morning:  Revelation, power and vocal.  Let’s break these nine gifts up into three sections: The first three–the revelation gifts; the second three–the power gifts; the final three–the vocal gifts.  And let’s begin with the word of wisdom. Everybody say the word of wisdom.  (RESPONSE)

Now oftentimes people say, “Well, the gifts of the Spirit only operate in the New Testament,? and that’s not true, because He’s the same Holy Spirit.  We didn’t get a new Holy Spirit when Jesus went to the cross.  The same Holy Spirit who operated in the Old Testament is the same Holy Spirit who operated in the New Testament is the same Holy Spirit who’s operating now.  So let’s deal with the word of wisdom for a moment.

The word of wisdom is: specific understanding or specific direction given in a specific situation.  How many times have you faced a situation where you suddenly knew what to do?  Or you suddenly knew the exact word of wisdom to give to someone?  What do we often do?  We often say, “Well, I wonder where that came from?  Why, that was out-of the-blue,? not realizing that’s an operation of one of the gifts of the Spirit–the word of wisdom.

First Kings Chapter 17, you know the story of Elijah and the widow.  God had sustained Elijah by the brook.  The ravens fed him.  He drank from the waters.  God wanted more than just Elijah to be sustained, He wanted a widow to be sustained so that we could be sustained.

And he came to town.  She was gathering sticks for a fire.  What are you doing?   “I’m getting ready to cook my last supper.  I’ve got just enough meal in a barrel, just enough oil in a cruse.  We’re going to eat our last meal, my boy and I, and we’re going to die.”

When the word of the Lord, (a word of wisdom) came to Elijah, he said, “Give me the first portion.”  Now that was an operation of the word of wisdom.  “Give me the first portion, for if you will, thus saith the Lord, “Your meal barrel will not diminish, neither shall your cruse of oil fail.?”  Now that was actually the gift of prophecy and the word of wisdom working together.

But it’s too much of the same thing, preaching and teaching, but leaving out the healing ministry.  Jesus said we’re to preach, teach, and heal-not that we can do the healing, but we pray and He does the healing.  We’ve got to do all three.  And He’s put His stamp of approval on the laying on of hands.  And hands are important.

My father has taught me, “Make certain never to do anything that you can’t find in the Bible.  If you can’t find it in the Bible, don’t do it.  Make sure that everything you say, everything you do is backed up by the Word of God.  They may get upset with you, but they cannot argue with the Bible.”

And hands are wonderful.  Take your hands like this and look at them.  Hands are wonderful.  The power of God comes into my hands, they get so hot.  I look down and think surely my hands will be red likefire, but they look just absolutely perfectly normal in every respect. And yet I can feel it.  I can feel it right now.  There’s a burning fire in my hands, and yet there’s no redness and yet they’re hot.  God uses hands.  In Acts He said He brought special miracles through the hands of Paul.

And that’s the Scripture that God gave me.  As I would stretch out my hands on television and say, “Walk over to the television and lay your hands up against my hands as a point of contact and expect miracles.  What would happen if members of your congregation would come forward and just let you put your hands on their hands?  I’ll tell you what would happen.  Miracles would begin to break out, miracles like you’ve never seen before.  Do you want to fill your church?  Fill it with miracles.

I can remember those services with Kathryn Kuhlman and the tremendous miracles of God as she would give words of knowledge, and people would come forward and give their testimonies.  She always waited till the end of the service before she would give her altar call.  I    never saw her give an altar call after she preached, and she only preached about ten or twelve minutes.  She couldn’t wait for the miracles.  And people would get healed and after many, many testimonies, she would say, “Well, you’ve been waiting to receive Him.  Come on.”  And that was her entire altar call.

 You think I’m kidding.  I’m not.  Dozens of times I was in services where she would just say, “I’m waiting.  He’s waiting.  Come on.”  And hundreds of people would get up and come streaming down to the front, with tears streaming down their faces, giving their lives to Jesus because of the miracle.  The miracle is the Holy Ghost tenderizer.

I was preaching in a service, and there was a woman who had not breathed out of her nose for 22 years.  And when we prayed for her, God healed her.  And she was giving the testimony and demonstrating that for the first time in 22 years she didn’t have to breathe out of her mouth, when a man came walking down the aisle and stood in front of me.

And I said, “Sir, can I help you?”  He said, “I am her husband. She dragged me here, because I don’t like you.  But that’s my wife.  I live with her.  I know that she cannot breathe out of her nose.  But I have seen a miracle.”

I said, “Well, what do you want me to do?”  He said, “I want you to lead me to Jesus, that’s what I want you to do.”  And I took him by the hand and led him in a sinner’s prayer.

God will work through you, but satan will tell you, “No, if it doesn’t work, what will you say?  What will you do?  What will people think?”  Who cares what they think?  You’re not responsible for what somebody thinks.  You’re responsible for what He tells you to do.

And we can make positive change.  And then you talk about evangelization.  And that’s what it’s really about.  It’s about winning people into the kingdom of God.  That’s what we’re here for.  We’re here to get something so we can go out and do what we’re called to do.

Who has that as your number one goal in your life?  Put your hand up.  Stand up on your feet for a minute.  That’s what this is all about.

Jesus came preaching, teaching, and healing.  That’s what He’s all about.  That’s what we’re about.  The word Christian means little Christ.  We’re to be like Him.  We’re to do what He did.  We’re to say what He said.  We’re to go where He went.  We’re to do those things, and to be proud to do it.  And, thank God, we have a country in which we can do it.

And never again allow someone to take our rights.  Paul was a citizen of Rome, and he had certain rights.  There were certain things they couldn’t do to him when they found out he was a citizen of Rome.  We’re citizens, not just of a country, but we’re citizens of heaven.  this world is not our final home.  We are passing through, but we’re going to leave our mark on it for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lift your hands unto the Lord tonight and begin to give Him praise.  And make a determination that we’re going to make a mark on this country for God, for evangelism.  We’re going to do it for God’s glory as a witness, for the Bible says this Gospel shall be preached as a witness in all nations, and then shall the end come.  This is not the end. No, no, no.  Why?  Because this Gospel has not been preached in all nations as a witness.  But we’re getting closer every day.

Father, in the authority of Jesus” name, I pray right now for a Holy Ghost anointing upon every one of us to discharge the responsibility that has been given to us as a minister of the Gospel.  Nearly 2,000 members of ICBM, that’s nearly 2,000 ministries represented here, and many others here who are guests and visitors from our land and from other lands, Lord, we make a commitment to You tonight that we are about evangelization, of winning this world to the Lord Jesus Christ.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

RR: Well, give a shout to the Lord.  To Him be the glory.  God bless you.  Thank you.  You may be seated.  Quickly turn in your Bible to Luke 4:18.  Now I’m not going to preach long but, believe me, it’s going to be powerful.  Not because of me, but because of the anointing.

What I preach tonight I am compelled to do.  There are times when the Lord will allow me to preach what I feel led to preach.  There are times when He compels me to do something.

I told the trustees this morning that I am compelled to do something, and I’m going to carry out that compelling.

I heard a story about a man many years ago who stretched his revival tent in Chicago.  And on the first night, his message was, “Repent and be born again and receive the Lord Jesus Christ.”  And when he gave the invitation, many came forward.

On the second night of the crusade he preached from the subject, “Repent and be born again and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”  And many came forward.

And on the third night he preached, “Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”  And the fourth night and the fifth night.  And finally one of the men got tired and pulled him aside and said, “When are you going to preach on something else?”

He said, “I’ll stop when you repent and when you are born again and when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I want to say it to you again.  Are you going to get what you came for?  If my message had a title, it would be, “Get what you came for.”

Luke 4, beginning at verse 18.  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed or bruised, to claim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

“Then Jesus closed the book and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on him, and he began to say to them, Today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.  But they were not too excited about it.

And those little eaglets are so tired of those thorns that they quickly jump out onto that wing.  And suddenly before they know it, she swoops up into the air.  And they hold on for dear life with their talons.  And there she goes, higher and higher and higher.  And they look up and they see the sky, and they look down and the see the mountains and they see the earth and they see a new realm of possibility they’d never seen before.  It’s wonderful.  Everything is brand-new.

And then she drops them off in that bristly nest again, and there they are once again.  They’re so uncomfortable.  They’re so scared to launch out on their own.  You know what?  I became president of ORU, I was so scared.  I was so scared, I couldn’t even spit.  Now that’s really fear when you get so scared you can’t even spit.  I mean, you go p-f-f-f-t-t-t and nothing comes out.  I was so scared.

Fifty-two million dollars in debt.  One day I had no debt. The next day I owed fifty-two million dollars.  I didn’t even have a chance to work up to it.  And I took personal possession of it.  I acted like it was mine.  And it nearly killed me.  Nine months later the joy of the Lord came into my heart, and God began to turn the tables on the devil.  But I was so scared.

And those little eaglets are so scared.  Time after time she would lay down her wing, and they’d get on.  And she’d soar.  And then when she thought the time was right, with a jerk, she wouldflap this wing and thrust the little eaglets off.  “Ahhhhhhhh! Do something.  Mama has these things.  Come on, boys, work! Ahhhhhhhh!”

Have you ever had God thrust you off His wing?  How many times has He thrust me off His wing?  Try fifty-two million dollars in debt.  That’s being thrust off His wing.  And you don’t know what to do, “Oh, me, O God, oh, stained glass window, oh, Bible.”

And you’re screaming and you’re crying and you’re calling out and you’re hurting and you don’t know what to do.  And those little eagles just keep screaming and screaming and screaming and screaming.

Seems like every time the plagues came, the Egyptians just wanted to make it worse on Israel.  But God had something in mind.  And about the time the little eaglets are about to hit the ground and be smashed, she’ll swoop down and pick them up and take them back up.  And she’ll drop them off again, “Ahhhhhhhh!”  There they go again.  Pounding those little wings as fast as they can.

And right now in the authority of Jesus’ name, I stretch my faith out in a healing prayer for those of you who are standing right now.  I the authority of Jesus’ name, whatever it is, I come against the heart problem, I come against your blood pressure, your blood sugar problem.  I rebuke it now in the name of Jesus.  I speak to every fibroid tumor.  I speak to the anemic condition.  I command it to go.  I speak to your blood, coagulate  normally.

I speak to the veins in your bodies, the arteries, that which is clogged, I bind it in the name of Jesus.  Arterial sclerosis, go in the name of Jesus.  I speak to the pain in your head.  I rebuke it now.  The living Jesus is here to bring healing tonight.  Healing is not in us, it’s in Him.  But we’re in Him, and we can call on His name, for healing was provided at the cross.

And so in the authority of Jesus’ name, I stretch my faith out to you and I believe God for your healing, in the name of …

 … hallelujah!

CARLTON: Richard, this lady was born with spina bifida, and she’s actually had the surgery.  But when you mentioned that cool feeling going up her spine, she said instantly it went up her spine.  She believes she is totally healed from the thing that surgery couldn’t heal by the power of God.  (Applause)  Come on, somebody, give God praise in this place.  (Applause)  Spina bifida right here.

RR: Healed by the power of God.

CARLTON: Yes, healed!

RR: Who’s had a back problem for five years, you can tell there’s a difference right now?  Come up here real quickly.  Yes, ma’am, right up here.  Carlton, can you come up here a minute?  Bring her right up here on the platform.  What did you just feel a moment ago when we prayed?

LADY: I just felt all my vertebrae just shift over and a major difference in just sensation as far as nerves and feeling.

“Richard, I’m a flight attendant.  Recently our plane lost compression in the air and one of my ear drums was ruptured. When the plane landed, I went to my hotel room in great pain.  I turned on the TV and the Hour of Healing was on.  At that moment, you said, ‘Someone is being healed of a ruptured ear drum.’  I put one hand on yours and one hand in my ear.  I felt a warmth all over my body, and immediately the pain was gone.  It was as if nothing had happened to my ear.”

And this one, “Carpal tunnel syndrome and nerve degeneration have caused me extreme pain for the past five years.  It was growing increasingly worse.  I couldn’t sleep at night and was unable to do the things that I enjoy.

“One night my husband and I were watching the Hour of Healing.  You gave a word of knowledge about carpal tunnel syndrome and nerve damage.  I thought it was unusual that you specifically mentioned nerve damage, as well as carpal tunnel syndrome.  I reached my hand out toward yours and agreed for my healing.  Glory to God, my hour of healing came.

“The next morning, the pain was gone.  I no longer have to wear my hand brace.  I am rejoicing and once again working in my flower garden, pulling weeds.”  (Applause)

This is from James in Attica, New York.  “Richard, an unusual thing happened as I watched the Hour of Healing one night, you said that someone was being healed of cataracts in their left eye.  My hands were touching your hands on the TV screen when you said it, and I said out loud, ‘How do you know I’m being healed?’  And you answered back right through the TV, ‘God told me.’  I was stunned!  But more importantly, I was healed.  I can now see the same out of both eyes.”   It goes on and on and on.

Robin in Atlanta, Georgia, “I laid hands and anointed my dog Max because he had an ear infection.  Then I flipped on the TV as you were talking about God healing a cat named Boo-Boo.  I claimed that word for Max, and his ear infiction” … infiction? … his ear … that too … “his ear infection cleared up immediately.”  Let me tell you what.  God loves animals too.  He created them.  He saved two of every kind.

Ralph in Fort Wayne, Indiana, “Richard, my leg has been paralyzed since 1961 when I was in an accident.  But while watching the Hour of Healing on television, you prayed for knees to be healed.  Soon after you prayed, strength came into my paralyzed knee.  I bent my leg for the first in 36 years.  I can now bend my knee and walk without pain.  I am so excited what God has done for me.”  It’s healing time, folks.  (Applause)

This is from Jim in Springhill, Florida.  I’ll tell you what, this will get you.  “I’ve had two back surgeries which left me in considerable pain.  I gave my life to the Lord only this last April, but I was still pretty skeptical.

“One night I heard you give a word of knowledge on your TV program about back pain, and something inside me said, ‘Maybe this will work.’  I put my hands on your hands just like you said, and I felt a warmth go up my back.  I was sitting down and when I got up, the pain was gone.  I am still amazed because I’ve been so skeptical of you.  But I feel great.

“Also, since I got saved, I’ve quit gambling and overeating and now I’m healed too.”  (Applause)

This is from up in Nova Scotia in Canada.  “Richard, last December while watching your program, my 15-year-old grandson, Ryan, called you for prayer for his grandfather who had fought prostate cancer for seven years.  The prayer partner led Ryan in the sinner’s prayer and then prayed for his grandfather’s healing.

“When Ryan got off the phone, he told his grandfather what he had done.  His grandfather went to the TV and put his hands on yours during your program.  He felt heat go through him.  He didn’t say anything, and sat down.  But a few minutes later he went back to the TV and touched the screen to see if he could have imagined the warmth that he felt.  It was cold.

“Three days later, Ryan’s grandfather went back to the doctor.  The doctor says all the cancer is gone.  Thank you, Richard.  I now have a grandson who is saved and a husband who is healed.”  (Applause)

This is happening every night.  “Richard, I’m 14 years old. I want to tell you how God healed my dog, Buzz.  He’s had to take seizure medication every day since I got him.  A few weeks ago you had a word of knowledge for seizures.  I believed if God was healing seizures for people, He would heal my dog too.  As you prayed, I laid my hands and my dog’s paws on your hands, and Buzz has not had one seizure since.”  (Applause)

This is from Jerry in Michigan.  “Richard, my three-year-old daughter developed a type of wart that spreads all over the body, from 200 to 300 warts covered the entire left side of her little body.

“I was watching you and Lindsay on the Hour of Healing, and you called out healings of warts.  I went into my daughter’s room where she was sleeping and placed my hand on hers while you prayed.  Praise God, every wart fell off.”  (Applause)