In this sermon, Don Basham discusses the importance of faith in God's faithfulness rather than relying on our own abilities or experiences. He emphasizes that faith is ultimately trust in God and His proven faithfulness. Basham then delves into the topic of how faith leads to miracles and the gifts of healing. He references Acts 19:11, which speaks of God working special miracles through the hands of Paul. He also highlights Jeremiah 7:22-23, where God emphasizes the importance of obeying His voice to be His people. Basham concludes by mentioning that sometimes he receives words of knowledge from God, indicating spiritual or physical needs of individuals seeking healing.

Hello, this is Don Basham and I want to say a few words about the tape message you're about to hear. It's a message on healing by Derrick Prince which was given as the last in a series of four messages on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and was taught in our Good News Fellowship Church in March. We believe that it's an unusual message and that it has an unusual anointing of the Holy Spirit upon it. Those of you who are familiar with Derrick's ministry know that his teaching is always clear and helpful, and so it is on this tape. But in addition to that, we feel there is a really unusual anointing of the Spirit upon the tape which will enable you, if you need healing, to be healed. In fact, we've done something unusual with this tape in that at the end of Derrick's teaching we've actually included a few minutes of the healing service which followed his teaching ministry. A number of outstanding miracles were performed in the service and many, many people were blessed. And we trust that those of you, as you listen to the tape, who may be in need of healing, if you will listen prayerfully and open your heart to the Holy Spirit, you will not only receive a blessing from the teaching, but you may be healed as well. God bless you as you listen to this tape. We've been speaking about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We might turn back there for a moment, 1 Corinthians 12, verse 7 through 11. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, or to give unto each one individually for the common good. For to one is given by the Spirit a word of wisdom, to another a word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to another the workings of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discernings of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these work in that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man, severally or individually as he will. I pointed out that there are nine gifts listed there, and that it's very common, and I think probably helpful, to divide them up in three categories. The revelatory gifts, the vocal gifts, and the gifts of power. The three gifts of revelation, a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, discernings of spirits. The vocal gifts, tongues, interpretation, prophecy. The gifts of power, faith, miracles, and healing. Now I want to deal mainly this morning with the three gifts of faith, miracles, and healing. And on the basis of those gifts, I'm going to be ministering to the sick in due course. But I also want to say that I do acknowledge the revelatory gifts, a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, and discernings of spirits. And it may well be in the course of the meeting that one or other of us will get a word of knowledge. It might not be me, it might be Jim or Mahesh. Very often a word of knowledge reveals that there's a certain person in the congregation with a certain specific sickness in a certain area. Sometimes it reveals further details like the person has had surgery three times and so on. Just depends how God chooses. Now we're going to make room for that type of ministry of that gift. But I want to explain to you beforehand, if that kind of manifestation of a word of knowledge comes forth, it's for your good. If you're the person who's indicated by it, don't be embarrassed, don't hold back. Because God works that way to show you that he knows all about you. That he's concerned about you and that he wants to help you. And this supernatural revelation is designed to impart faith to you. So that when you know that God took the trouble to point out your particular need and problem in the midst of all these people here this morning, it was because he wanted to impart faith to you that you'd be able to receive healing or whatever it is you need. So there's always a purpose in what God does. If this should happen, well, respond. Don't hold back, don't be embarrassed, don't think that people are trying to make a spectacle out of you. That's not the purpose. Our sole purpose here this morning in everything we do is to help as many people as possible. Normally I don't get a word of knowledge in that way. But when I do start to minister for people, then sometimes I get a word of knowledge. For instance, a person will come for physical healing and the Lord will show me that their basic problem is spiritual. And that if that spiritual need is attended to, the physical need will be taken care of. Sometimes God gives me a word of knowledge that certain people are going to be healed. You might think I favor those people, but it isn't my decision. And when I tell a person that they're going to be healed, they're going to be healed. But if I could operate that at my will, then I'd probably overuse it. But I want you to understand these are as the Holy Spirit wills. And I want to make very clear right at the beginning that the Holy Spirit is the administrator of all the riches of Christ. We said that earlier. Whatever we are going to get here this morning, we're going to get by submitting to and cooperating with the Holy Spirit. It's my desire to be sensitive to the way He leads. And I'm inviting you to ask God that you may be sensitive too. The more sensitive we are as a congregation to the Holy Spirit responding to His moving and direction and prompting, the more God will be able to do in the midst of us. So I'm going to talk now primarily about the three gifts of power, faith, miracles and healings. And I want to suggest to you that the basic gift there is faith. And that very frequently it's faith that in turn triggers miracles or healings. The kind of faith we're talking about is not just the kind of faith that enables you to become and live as a Christian. Romans 1 17 says, the just shall live by faith. That's Martin Luther's basic text. There is a kind of faith which we must have to lead the Christian life. It's a continuing, ongoing, personal relationship with God. It's really not so much theology as relationship. I think it's beautifully summed up in the first verse of Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. David wasn't making a doctrinal statement at that point. He was declaring his personal relationship with the Lord. That's a faith relationship. It's a relationship of mutual commitment. I'm committed to the Lord, the Lord's committed to me. And on the basis of that relationship I can make the most amazing statement. I shall not want. There'll never be any need in my life which will not be supplied. Isn't that tremendous? It's not on the basis of your theology. You may be doctrinally very exact but out of touch with the Lord. It's on the basis of your personal relationship. That's what I call faith to live by. Now there's a book of mine there with that title which you're welcome to obtain at the end of the meeting. Now that's not the kind of faith we're talking about now. That's the faith every Christian has to have to be a Christian. We're talking about a special gift. In Galatians 5 Paul lists the nine fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Faith is both a fruit and a gift. As fruit it's an aspect of character. I think you can call it by two different sides of the same coin. It's trust, it's an ongoing, steady, even, unshakable trust in God that's not affected by situations or circumstances. It's also trustworthiness, faithfulness, steadfastness, reliability. But again we're not talking about that. We're talking about the supernatural gift of faith. What I call mustard seed faith. Jesus said if you have faith like a grain of a mustard seed you could say to this mountain be removed and it would have to move. Now the mustard seed is singled out as the smallest of all seeds. What Jesus is saying there is it isn't, when we're dealing with this kind of faith it isn't the quantity it's the quality. He cursed a fig tree. It withered from the roots in 24 hours and when the disciples marveled at what had happened he said to them have the faith of God. That's the correct translation. That's God's faith. God has all wisdom, all knowledge and all faith. By a word of wisdom he imparts to us a little portion of his wisdom. By a word of knowledge he imparts to us a little portion of his knowledge. And by the gift of faith he imparts to us just a little portion of his own divine supernatural faith. And while we operate in that faith we are just the same as God. I hope you understand that I say it reverently. Because it's not us it's God's faith. Now that kind of faith is always given for a specific situation to meet a specific need. When the need is met the faith lifts and you're back again on your own normal faith. This gift of faith is frequently manifested by a spoken word. Not always. But in many cases Jesus said you can speak to the mountain you can speak to the sycamore tree. With the same kind of faith Jesus stood up in the midst of the storm on the sea of Galilee and spoke to the winds and the waves and immediately they obeyed him. The remarkable thing is that afterwards he turned to his disciples and said where is your faith? In other words why didn't you do it? Why did you have to leave it to me? And when he cursed the fig tree he said if you have that kind of faith you can do what is done to the fig tree. God has never rebuked us for having too much faith you know that? And I don't think we ever displease God if we sincerely and humbly seek to exercise faith. It was that kind of faith that enabled Jesus to walk on the water. And when Peter saw him doing it and realized he could do the same he asked for a word from the Lord. The Lord said come. So he was not a fanatic he was acting on the word of God. He stepped out and began to walk on the water. He was doing fine until he looked at situations and circumstances and he began to sink. And he just had time before the water closed over his mouth to say Lord save me. He didn't pray a long prayer. Jesus reached out his hand and lifted him up. But what I want to point out to you is Jesus did not say Peter how foolish you were to walk on the water. He said why didn't you keep on believing. Most of us in that boat we would have rebuked and criticized Peter for having the foolishness to step out and walk on the water. That would be the average religious attitude. I want you to notice the attitude of Jesus was exactly the opposite. He did not rebuke Peter for walking on the water. He just reproved him for not staying on top. Why didn't you believe? Bear in mind that faith of every kind is extremely precious. The Bible says it's more precious than gold that perishes. The most precious of all metals. And it says in Hebrews 11 6 without faith it is impossible to please God. Religion doesn't do it. Prayer doesn't do it. Giving doesn't do it. Nothing does it without faith. I've always been impressed by the fact at least always for a number of years. That when Peter when Jesus warned Peter that he was going to betray him. He didn't say Peter I've prayed that you won't betray me. He said Peter I've prayed that your faith won't fail. It was inevitable in the situation with the weaknesses in Peter's character that he would make that tragic error. But Jesus said Peter it'll be all right. There'll be a way back as long as your faith doesn't fail. And Peter himself later wrote about the trial of our faith being more precious than gold that perishes. I suppose he wrote from experience. And I want to point out in every trial that you go through it's your faith that's being tried. We often lose sight of that fact. We get negative. We become self-critical. We say how did I get into this thing? I'm all wrong. I shouldn't be here. And we begin to let our faith go. Don't let your faith go. Hold on. He that cometh to God must what? Pray? No. Believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. It's not enough to believe that God exists. I suppose all of us here this morning probably believe that. You've got to believe that if you diligently seek God he will reward you. Do you believe that? Are you sure you believe it? Would you say so? You believe God? You believe that if you diligently seek him he will reward you? That the reward is sure? That he cannot fail? Bound to come? I believe that. But there are lots of times in the middle of seeking God diligently that I begin to be tempted to doubt it. Never doubt it. Faith ultimately is faith in God's faithfulness. Not faith in yourself. Faith in your ability. Faith in your gifts. Faith in your experience. Faith in the faithfulness of God. And if I had to leave one message behind to my family and succeeding generations. As a result of my Christian walk I could say it in three words. God is faithful. That for me is not a theory. It's a proven fact. I trust him. I believe in him. Now I want to talk primarily this morning about how faith leads to the workings of miracles and the gifts of healings. I'd like to show you a rather interesting passage in Acts chapter 19. Verse 11. Says God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. You know the word that really excites me there? The word special. Because if you analyse the significance of that word it means that in the early church miracles were normal. But some were special. How many churches today have normal miracles? I've been in some churches where people have sat there for 10, 15, 20 years and never witnessed one visible miracle in all their days. And some of them were Pentecostal churches. Interestingly enough. Well God grant us to have miracles and Lord we'd like special miracles. Turn back to Acts chapter 4. Verses 29 and 30. This is a prayer that was prayed by the apostles and the early church in Jerusalem was honoured by the Holy Spirit and recorded in scripture. So I think it's a good prayer. This is what it says. 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. There's a very specific prayer that God will grant signs and wonders in the name of Jesus and that he would stretch forth his hand to heal. Do we dare to pray that prayer for us here this morning and to believe it will be answered? You really believe that God would answer that prayer here this morning? Well then let's pray it together. If you don't have the King James Version of the Bible we'll forgive you. Just have whatever is in your hand. As Bob Mumford says that was the version Paul used. I want you to read it out with me and if there are a few different words the Lord will unscramble it in the heavenly computer up there. Are you ready? Now this is a prayer. We're praying it this morning as a prayer expecting God to answer it here. 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. Amen. Did you say amen? All right. Well I want you to notice that it's very scriptural to pray for signs and wonders and healing. Those very spiritual men the apostles and the founders of the first church in Jerusalem specifically prayed for that. I trust we'll never get so spiritual that we're more spiritual than they were. Now turn to Galatians chapter 3 verses 2 through 5. This only would I learn of you. Received ye the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish having begun in the spirit are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain if it be yet in vain? He therefore that ministereth to you the spirit and worketh miracles among you Doeth he it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? And it's very obvious that the answer is not by the works of the law but by the hearing of faith. I want you to see there that Paul assumes and he's writing to the churches in Galatia that in every church there would be somebody who would minister the Holy Spirit and work miracles. He assumed the presence of such a person and he says something that is very significant and I want you to lay hold of it here this morning because it's going to help you. The working of miracles comes through the hearing of faith. In other words how we hear what the Holy Spirit brings to us through the word will determine how much we experience of the miraculous. I'd like you to say that with me or rather after me. The working of miracles comes through the hearing of faith. So it's going to make a lot of difference to many of you here this morning how you hear. And I'm not going to stand here and talk for the sake of hearing my own voice because I hear it often enough. I'm talking for the sake of imparting to you faith. And if you hear the right way faith will be imparted. And if faith is imparted miracles will result. So bear in mind there's a principle. The working of miracles comes through the hearing of faith. Now just for a little while I want to take a few scriptures that relate to hearing. And I want to show you that hearing in a certain sense is basic to our relationship with God. Whether we hear right or hear wrong is going to determine much of what we receive in experience from God. Turn for a moment to Romans chapter 10 verse 17. So then faith cometh by hearing. Hearing by the word of God or the modern versions will say the word of Christ. Which makes no difference to my present thought. I remember in 1941-42 I lay for many long months in a military hospital in Egypt. With a physical disease that the doctors were not able to cure. As a newly spirit baptized Christian and continually I was saying to myself. If only I had faith I know that God would heal me. But the next thing I always said was but I don't have faith. And when I said that I was in what John Bunyan calls the slough of despond. Or in modern English the long dark lonely valley of despair. None of you have ever been there but I have. And as I sat there in my bed day after day in that darkness of despair. Suddenly there came a piercing ray of light in the darkness that actually changed my whole situation. And it came through that verse Romans 10-17. For it says so then faith cometh. And I caught hold of that simple statement in two words faith comes. If you don't have it you can get it. You don't have to stay without it. And then I looked and I said how does faith come? And the answer is by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Now I could preach for an hour on that without stopping. But I don't want to this morning. I just want to say that faith comes as you hear the word that God speaks to you. The Greek word that's translated word there is rhema not logos. Logos is the divine eternal word the total council of God. Which is settled forever in heaven as David said. It's also the word of God manifested in Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the logos the word. But rhema is specifically a spoken word that's what it means. Faith doesn't come by the Bible that's a shocking statement. Faith comes by hearing the word that God speaks to you. That that is the meaning is obvious because of the word hearing. No one ever yet heard a Bible. You see a Bible you can see white pages with black marks on. But that does not produce faith. Please note faith does not come by reading the Bible. Unless what? You hear the voice of God. And multitudes of people read the Bible and never hear God's voice. And the result is they never get faith. What turns the black marks on white paper into a voice that you can hear? Well no faith comes when it's a voice. What makes it a voice? The Holy Spirit that's right. And without the Holy Spirit there's no way to get faith. You've got to come to the place where you are so related to God. That when you read the Bible or hear a sermon or whatever way it may come. And it may come direct to your mind without being mediated through any other channel. You hear God's word to you. It's a living word. It's a personal word. It's not remote. It's not theology. It's something God says to you because he loves you. Because he cares about you. Because you're related to him. That's how faith comes. By hearing the word that God speaks. I just want to take a few other scriptures. That bring out the tremendous importance of hearing in our relationship with God. Jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 23. I haven't read Jeremiah very much lately. I can tell that the pages are hard to turn. Not that I don't love Jeremiah. I love him. Thank God for Jeremiah. Jeremiah 7 verses 22 and 23. God is reproving Israel for backsliding and turning away from him. And he says this. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them, in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burned offerings or sacrifices. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and ye shall be my people. That's the simplest statement I know anywhere in scripture of how to be the people of God. Obey my voice, and ye shall be my people. Not read my Bible, and ye shall be my people. But obey my voice.