In this post we would look at the two approaches to attaining supernatural abilities or manifestation. One is very popular in the body of Christ today, but the other is still developing. I am speaking of impartation and training. We tend to go for impartation because it is quite easy, or maybe majority go for it because honestly that is all they know. They hold meetings or programs, preach the supernatural, invoke faith in people's hearts and then pray a prayer of impartation. But training requires higher skills and higher knowledge, and then it takes a lot of time. But if we are to be successful in raising a supernatural generation of Christians filled with the power of God and the atmosphere of heaven, then we must master both approach. Okay, I am going to explain further this two approaches.
These two caught across every aspect of the supernatural, from tongues to power and the mystics. And it involves both receiving supernatural abilities and receiving supernatural manifestation. What I mean is those two approaches are applicable when you want to receive supernatural healing and also when you want to receive the ability to heal the sick. During the healing revivals we saw those two approaches at play. The healing evangelist, comes up the pulpit, preach about Jesus and his power and authority over all things including sickness. This would then spark faith in people's hearts to receive healing. Then he declares the word of healing, they receive and get healed. That's the impartation approach. But notable healers began to see that this was not enough because not everyone gets healed. Now, because of that passionate desire to get everyone healed they started developing another approach.
Firstly, they would go to each person during a meeting and pray for them over and over again till that they receive their heal. Yet still, there were some that were not still receiving healing. Convinced that Jesus want everyone healed they would ask the people to wait after the program for more prayers. With all these many people waiting for prayer, they soon decide to have a healing house where these people can stay while they continue to pray for them daily till they get healed and the healing is confirmed. But it wasn't enough to just pray for them, with the understanding that healing comes by faith, these healing evangelists decided that the people should be taught more about healing while waiting for prayers. This process of constantly teaching this people lead to them growing and developing in faith, until their faith became strong enough to receive their healing. And sometimes they don't even need anyone to lay hands on them before they got out of their sick bed by faith. They no longer require impartation, because through the teaching their faith had been trained to receive healing for themselves. The healers became shocked that these people got up without any word of prayer or an additional laying of hands, and that was how the training approach began.
One thing I have learnt from science is that if something works in one area, it would also work in other related areas. Even to the area of speaking in tongues, we are familiar with only one approach of praying or laying hands on people to receive the gift. There was a time God taught me to just teach them the faith to receive. All I did was train their faith to receive, and that was enough. They started speaking in tongues even more fluently than those who received by prayer. This is because those who receive by impartation only operate in these things by initial faith, but those who undergo training have a more developed faith and as such they would have greater manifestation. The things of God are operated by faith, the greater the faith, the greater the manifestation. So we see this two approaches playing out in healing and tongues, now what about other manifestation of the supernatural?
In the body of Christ today we see the awakening of diverse supernatural manifestation including the miraculous, the prophetic and numerous mystic experiences such as teleportation/translation (like the one Philip experienced in the Bible), levitation (like how Jesus ascended to heaven), turning invisible (like how Jesus disappeared when they first tried to kill him) etc. And our major approach to all this is again impartation. Those who advocate these supernatural things would hold meetings or programs, come up the altar and preach so charismatically, stirring up excitement and of course faith. Then with that heightened faith in the environment they declare words of impartation, or go into some kind of spiritual exercise to provoke the Spirit and cause the people to be imparted with these supernatural abilities or manifestation. They could do it through worship, or spirit chant, or fire prayer, all that are impartation approach. The training approach for such level of the supernatural is not something you can do in a day program.
Training involves developing certain lifestyle. It is all about what you practice daily. The ancient mystics of the medieval period developed this lifestyle of constant meditation and prayer, and as they continue with this lifestyle they broke into the supernatural. In fact, it got to a stage that they can't even control themselves, any small thing set them off. St. Joseph of Cupertino was one such people, ordinary the sounding of church bell and this guy is already floating (levitating). Anything that reminds him of God or the things of the Spirit would just set him off, and he finds himself caught up in such mystic experience. It’s all because of the lifestyle they lived. These supernatural manifestation are things that we can do at will when we are well trained through developing a lifestyle. Nancy Coen ascends to heaven in between conversations. As in, while discussing with someone she could just quickly ascend to heaven in her spirit, ask God some questions, see some things and come back before the person even notice.
Even if you entered the supernatural by impartation, you would still have to undergo a process of training in order to fully develop yourself in it. This is why it is important that the body of Christ does not rely on impartation alone. We must learn to train people. Another limitation of the impartation approach is that during impartation not everyone receives. This had led to some people believe that these supernatural things are not for them. No, the gate is wide open, all can come in and partake. But impartation do not always reach everyone, that is just how it is. But training can reach everyone. This was how John J. Lake got a whole city healed. In my experience of training people I am yet to see someone that does all the exercises and yet didn't manifest. These things are for everyone, and the training approach ensures that everyone walks in it.
Impartation however is very advantageous, in that it helps to ignite initial faith. Some people might have difficulty believing that they too can manifest, and as a result they refuse to waste their time in training. But through the help of impartation approach, the atmosphere can be stirred and the Spirit would come upon them, moving them to manifest. And once these people see themselves manifest that first time, then it becomes easier for them to have faith and give themselves to training. So both approaches are important, we must learn how to use both. Once the body of Christ have developed herself in both approaches, then she would see a mass emergence of a supernatural people. From small to great, everyone moving in the supernatural, manifesting heaven on earth, and standing as a testimony that life has conquered death and heaven has married earth in Christ Jesus.
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