How can you know you are filled with the Spirit?

Question: How does a person become filled with the Holy Spirit and know they are filled? Does everyone who is filled with the Holy Spirit have the gifts that Acts speaks about? Answer: A Christian receives the Spirit by the hearing of faith. “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the…

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I wanted to let you know about a healing that happened to me

Question: First of all, I have found some great resources on your site. Even though we differ in opinion on some things, I can respect your beliefs. I wish I could have had someone like you to share some of the information with me from your book about growing from a boy into a man.…

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Will God cure us of herpes?

Question: Hi, I have made a lot of mistakes in my life and just one time in my life I felt like killing myself. I knew God existed all the while, but I never obeyed him. I have this long-distance boyfriend, and I visit him on vacation. The first time we had sex it was…

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Could God speak in a still small voice today if He wanted to?

Question: Hello, I was baptized for the remission of sins about a year ago and became part of the church of Christ.  I wanted to know if it was still possible to hear God’s voice audibly or as a small inner voice speaking gently.  I know that we no longer need to hear God’s voice…

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Belief, Baptism, and Signs Following – Still Today?

by Larry Ray Hafley Here is the text of Mark 16:15-20: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  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…

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Miraculous Gifts as They Are Designated in the Scriptures

by Gilbert Alexander Jesus touched the eyes of a blind man and he saw Mark 8:22-25 Miraculous gifts, or spiritual gifts, as they are designated in the Scriptures were given to the apostles for specific purposes. They were given directly to the apostles when the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost…

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Does Jesus promise in John 14:12 that miracles would continue?

Question: Does Jesus promise in John 14:12 that miracles would continue? Answer: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12). In this context, Jesus is giving his…

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Was God speaking through Balaam’s donkey’s mouth?

Question: In Numbers 22-24 (I think) the one guy’s donkey starts talking because God opened the donkey’s mouth, but does that mean that God is talking through the donkey, or did God just show the donkey how to talk? Answer: “Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What…

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Were Elders Limited to the Age of Miracles? (Sermon)

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/WereEldersLimitedToTheAgeOfMiracles.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 20:17-35   I.         Some times I wonder where ideas about the Scriptures come from.             A.        The passages are clear, but it seems that some want a certain outcome, so they seek whatever means they can find to arrive at that result.             B.        I was asked if elders were only for the…

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Were elders limited to the age of miracles?

Question: Were elders limited to the age of miracles? Was the church only supposed to have elders while the miraculous gifts were present? I have someone here who is claiming this and he bases it on Acts 20:28, Ephesians 4:11, and I Timothy 4:14. Answer: Stated to End? In order to make this claim, one…

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Do you think that Jesus will talk to me about my plans?

Question: Hi, I’m a 19-year-old college student and have a close relationship with Christ. Lately, I have been having mixed emotions about life. (I’ve read what you said about feelings). It isn’t that I’m ungrateful for the gift of life, it’s just that in looking at the world in a new light, you see how…

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Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2011Spring4JesusHealsTheManBornBlind.mp3 by Taylor Ladd Influence and Evangelism

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Did I receive the baptism of fire?

Question: Last night my pastor opened an altar call for the baptism of fire. After I received the baptism I felt as if I had a sunburn coming from the inside out. Have you ever heard of this experience before, or was I just wanting a sign from God and it was in my mind?…

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Is there a non-miraculous form of prophecy?

Question: I’m having a problem understanding “prophesying.” In Romans 12:6 Paul said, “let us prophesy.”  Is I Corinthians 14:3-4 teaching that during the days of the early church one form of prophesying was not in a “miraculous” sense but rather a “natural” ability  (cf. Romans 12:4-6)? Answer: In Romans, Paul makes the point: “For as we have…

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God Is Speaking to You

by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 49, Dec. 4, 2009. One person claims that God revealed to her in a dream what she was to do with her life. A man says that God spoke to him, openly, telling him what he was to do religiously. Yet another sees signs in the…

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The Age of Miracles

by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 47, Nov. 21, 2008. Question: Most of the older members of the church tell me that the age of miracles has ended. But I can’t find anyone who can give me the passage of Scripture that teaches that. Can you provide me with the Scriptures? Answer:…

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Are we limiting God by saying miracles don’t happen today?

Question: I have a friend who believes, like many people, that spiritual gifts still exist. He says to believe that they don’t is limiting the Holy Spirit. I told him that I see that as the opposite being true. To say that some have the gift of healing today and many many others don’t is…

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What does it mean that you will receive power?

Question: In Acts 1:8 when Jesus says that after the Holy Ghost has come upon you, you shall receive power. Does that mean power over my sins, over my thoughts power to talk right, or does it mean just what the Bible says? Answer: When Jesus said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense…

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Was faith an absolute requirement for Jesus’ healing people?

Question: Was faith the absolute requirement for Jesus’ healing people? Answer: “Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to…

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The Miracle of Creation: A Stronghold for Believers

by George Hutto via Tidings, Vol. 24, No. 11, Nov. 2009. Moses laid the foundation for belief in God with the first ten words in the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Other miracles are significant, but the miracle of creation tells us our origin, gives reason for believing in…

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Could Jesus have cured people through the placebo effect?

Question: Recently I have been reading a book that discusses something called “mind-body medicine” where it emphasizes examples in past history where people were cured of their health-related illnesses by having faith in themselves to heal. They simply hoped in their mind that they can heal and they healed. The book also cites how a…

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Does God still raise people from the dead?

Question: A friend of mine seems to think that it is possible for someone to raise from the dead now. I thought that Jesus was the last person to do that. He seems to think that I am underestimating God’s power. I believe that God can do anything, but I don’t think He will raise…

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Why did God prove He existed before but not now?

Question: My son has come to me asking questions about the church. He is a member of the church but has fallen away. His asking questions is a crack in the door I don’t want to miss out on. He’s asking why did God allow proof that He existed then, but doesn’t now. He said…

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The Sufficiency of the Bible

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/SufficiencyOfTheBible.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 3:1-12   I.         Do we need anything beyond the Bible to know God’s will for us?             A.        If the Bible is all sufficient, then we would not need any church, priest, or religious leader.             B.        If the Bible is sufficient then we would be responsible to find the truth for ourselves…

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Speaking in Tongues

Text: Acts 2:1-11   I.         I received several questions in recent days regarding speaking in tongues             A.        People wanting to know what it was, what is the heavenly language, what is the unknown tongue             B.        But probably more than anything else, they want to know if you must have the gift of tongues as evidence of having the…

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Questions about miraculous gifts

Question: First off I would like to say that you have great knowledge of the Word of God. I’m on your web site constantly reading and taking notes and going back to the book to read. I have a few questions if you don’t mind breaking them down for me. What is the requirement to…

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Facts About Faith Healing

by Rick Duggin via Westvue Messenger, Vol. 29, No. 7, July 1986 Members of the Faith Assembly, an Indiana-based religious sect, have lost as many as eighty-eight members to treatable illnesses or injuries because they believe that going to a doctor is wrong. A federal and state study concluded that the mortality rate for their…

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Do Miracles Occur Every Day?

by Leon Mauldin via Gospel Power, Vol. 15, No. 40, Oct. 12, 2008. What does the Bible teach regarding miracles? Is it true, as some claim, that miracles are happening every day? In reality, even during Bible times, miracles did not occur “every day.” Miraculous activities for the most part were confined to certain periods of…

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