The Psalmist said that he had inherited the testimonies of the Lord forever and that they were the joy of his heart. (see Psalm 119:11) The testimonies and works of those gone before us are our inheritance. All that God has said or done in history is ours. The apostles were given power to be witnesses. A witness in court is someone who has seen or heard the evidence and they have a testimony to present. It is only to the degree that we have experienced or encountered His power that we are then able to testify of it. We can also pass on the legacy of testimonies that others have left for us.
Moses did many great works and saw the glory of the Lord. (see Exodus 33) Joshua inherited a supernatural lifestyle from Moses. Elisha inherited a supernatural lifestyle from Elijah. The disciples inherited this from Jesus. Jesus told them they would do greater works. (see John 14:12) Jesus said the “greater works” would testify or be a witness of Father’s Presence in His life. (see John 5:36) Testimony in the Greek means to repeat or do again. All of the inheritance in which all of these received is also ours. We need to accept this inheritance. The inheritance becomes greater with each generation. As we add up the Biblical inheritance passed on, plus the works, prayers and proclamations of those just before us, we have such a great inheritance.
After the generation of Joshua had died, Israel fell away from the Lord. (see Judges 2:7, 10, 12) The reason for this was that no one kept the testimony going and the next generation didn’t know the works of the Lord that had taken place. They didn’t keep the momentum going. This is very important that we pass on the testimonies or it will be very tragic for our future generations.
Here in the Appalachian Mountains in the early 1800’s, Robert Sheffey was born to a prominent family. He was the youngest of five brothers. His mother died when he was two, and he was reared by an aunt in Abingdon, Virginia. Sheffey attended Emory and Henry College for a couple of years in 1839-40. He was eighteen when he was converted at a revival in Abingdon. His relatives wanted him to continue in the Presbyterian Church, but he became a Methodist and, shortly thereafter, he became an itinerant preacher. Eventually his circuit of churches spanned fourteen mountain counties in Virginia and West Virginia. He was called a “St. Francis of the wilderness,” or the “Wilderness Saint.”
Some of the stories of his life included the fact that Robert Sheffey had a sweet tooth. He would pray for the Lord to bless the little honeybees that made the honey. Once he went to a man’s house whose bees had not swarmed. The man figured that the bees had been frozen or insects had gotten them. Mr. Sheffey got down and prayed and asked the Lord to swarm the bees. Instantly there was such a swarm of bees that the man had to get more bee gums for the bees to live in.
Many of the stories about Mr. Sheffey related to his power in prayer. Some of his prayers concerned critical needs of the agricultural community. His prayers and miraculous works included praying for the need for rain in time of drought or the prevention of rain during the bringing in of the harvest. I think Mr. Sheffey knew what it was like to live a supernatural life style. I have heard stories of how he would pray and a cloudless sky would see rain come instantly and put out a fire that was about to get out of hand. I have heard how storms destroyed moonshine stills and they took the stones and laid the foundation for a church building. He loved the poor and helped them so much. He did supernatural works through his faith in God. His miraculous works were a blessing for the poor that money could not buy.
I have been in meetings and seen a cripple person that I knew was crippled, be healed instantly. In Africa, a deaf person interrupted my speaking to inform me he had just received his hearing while I was speaking. I have seen barren women have children 9 months after prayer. This happened in Africa and also has happened here in America. Just in the last few months, I have seen people healed as a result of prayer. I have seen people set free from addiction as a result of prayer and proclamation. Sometimes the works of God are hard to understand and hard to explain but that is just the way God is. That is the joy of living a supernatural lifestyle. This is normal Christianity.
I have read about the great Revivalists of our nation that saw numerous healings in their meetings and ministry. I have seen footage of short legs growing about a foot right before our eyes. This was before trick photography could have deceived the people. I have read how John G. Lake allowed doctors to put germs on his hand and watch them under a microscope. The germs disappeared. He was immune to disease.
These miracles are a part of our inheritance. Like mantles they are falling. As Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah and proceeded to do twice the number of miracles, we likewise need to pick up the mantles that are available to us. They are falling. Some of them are falling from the great men and women of scripture. Some of them are falling from the great Revivalists of the past. Some of them are falling from the men and women that walked and prayed over our region. Some of them are falling in the form of impartation from those who walk amongst us now. They are falling. Holy Spirit will show them to you. It’s like a treasure hunt. It is exciting. It is yet to see what a generation with a willing and open heart will find. They will sell all they have and purchase the fields that contain the treasures they find. (see Matthew 13:44) We have promises stacked upon promises in our generation. What will we do with them?
Testimony will encourage the people to understand that God is not distant, angry or out of touch. We need to hear this more than the nightly news. It is much more encouraging. Are you willing to make the switch? What we hear from Heaven is so important in these times. It will be the difference between life and death. We will be distinguished as people of God instead of weak professing Christians. There are plenty of those around. Anyone can profess Christianity, as most of America does, but not everyone can profess the manifest presence of Almighty God is at work in their lives in a major way. It is time to encounter and experience more than we have formerly seen in our lifetimes. It is time to step into our inheritance. It is time to simply accept our inheritance. A scripture that I dearly love is, II Corinthians 1:20 that tells us that the promises of God are “Yes,” and we only need to say “Amen” to them. The testimonies of the Lord are sure and we need to tell them. (see Psalms 93:5) Testimonies are the spark that gets the fire going. Have fun.
Honest and Encouraging!
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