I've been reading a lot lately about the healing evangelists of the 1950s. People like William Branham and Jack Coe. I ran across the God's Generals website and they have a great list of short video clips you can watch (here is a great one of Branham telling a lady her name and her address and healing her of cancer - another one of cancer falling off a lady's nose into the hand of Jack Coe). Some are more dramatic than others. Some you may look at with skepticism. I find that my skepticism is mostly rooted in how they present themselves or how their character may have faltered. So, I have to look past that and try to see what God was, and is, doing. John the Baptist certainly did not present himself well in animal skins - but he was a powerful vessel for God. King David was not without sin - but he was dear to God. These guys had faults and were human, but they also were obedient to what they felt God was calling them to do.
I wonder how many more are out there and have been disqualified either by others or by themselves for their shortcomings? We, like Paul exorted Timothy, must not receive a "spirit of timidity" but rather should "fan the flame of the gift" given to us. Paul said "I care very little if I am judged by you...indeed, I do not even judge myself" (I Cor. 4:3) What is he saying here? That we should not examine our lives and root out sin? Not quite - it is a matter of degree. He goes on to say "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me." In other words, he could examine himself to the extreme but still have sin that he has no knowledge of - therefore it is better to let the Holy Spirit reveal sin along the way. We have work to do, and we cannot make ourselves perfect, or expect others to be, before we do it.
