February 5, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Yesterday, I released Part One of an article by Larry Sparks highlighting the book Decrees that Activate the Gifts of the Holy Spirit by Tommy and Miriam Evans. The purpose of Larry’s article is to challenge and encourage us to receive and operate in the gifts of Holy Spirit using this powerful book as a reference. These gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12) are such an important part of the coming revival that I wanted to share his exhortation and also promote the book. 

Part One, which I shared yesterday, encouraged us that if we share God’s Word regarding the gifts, they WILL operate. It also pointed out that our quest for balance has gotten us out of balance! In our attempts to fulfill 1 Corinthians 14:40, “Let everything be done decently and in order,” we have “ordered” a dimension of Holy Spirit activity out of our gatherings. Larry ended by pointing out that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are not atheistic, but are actually beginning to pursue spirituality. However, they want a genuine manifestation of the supernatural, not religion. When we reject the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit, we reject the very thing a generation is crying out for! Larry shares that silence regarding the supernatural in the church is one of the greatest enemies to our cause. Here is Part Two of:

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DECREE AND DEMONSTRATE (PART 2)

Good News… and Bad News

Here’s the good news. The outlandish theory of cessationism is nearly dead.  Cessationism, not worthy of being called a theology, claims that the miraculous demonstrations of Holy Spirit power, such as tongues, miracles, and prophecy, ceased when the Scripture was canonized and the last apostle died. This is completely unverifiable by Scripture, and also, the vast majority of respectable theologians would denounce this, including people like Dr. Craig Kenner, N.T. Wright, Wayne Grudem, Gordon Fee, and others. This sounds like good news, right? 

Here is the next threshold we need to cross: will we demonstrate what we claim to believe? Many of us claim to believe that the Spirit’s miraculous gifts and power continue today. But are we willing to take the risks that welcome His presence into our gatherings and lives?

Practical Things We Can Do to Demonstrate the Spirit’s Power

Let’s commit to celebrating the work and manifestation of the Holy Spirit, rather than simply “tolerating” Him. 

When the Holy Spirit touches someone and they begin to respond physically, let’s pray that all parties involved would have discernment on how to navigate what God is doing. This is the appropriate response, as opposed to considering His actions as interruptions that should be shut down.

As leaders, let’s couple the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures with an expectation that the Lord will confirm His word with “signs following” (Mark 16:17). This demands that we live in a constant state of wide-eyed expectation that looks for activity of the Holy Spirit even while we are teaching or preaching the Word. I believe divine interruptions are available, through which people are healed and delivered in our meetings, as the Word is taught. But this will only occur if we become open and receptive to these moments. 

In their book, the Evans illustrate this by sharing the following: 

“A woman who was 80 percent deaf in both ears attended one of our meetings. No one said a formal prayer with her. She was just worshipping in the room and noticed a sensation in her ears. She went out to the lobby to change the batteries in her hearing aids. When she took them out, she found she could hear 100 percent. A few weeks later, my daughter and her friend were telling this same testimony to a teenage girl who was deaf in one ear. The young girl did not say anything but in her heart, she wished the same would happen to her. Three days later, her ear opened up! She immediately told her youth leader, and word spread like wildfire.

“Another woman who was deaf for 15 years had her hearing completely restored while I was ministering in South Carolina. I simply said to the crowd, ‘You have permission to be healed while we worship!’ When she was able to hear, she ran up to the pastor, and they interrupted the service for her to share. A woman in the crowd was healed of severe tinnitus just by listening to the testimony. The woman with tinnitus shared her story with a woman at a restaurant later that day, that woman was also healed of tinnitus in the middle of the restaurant!

“While preaching in Indiana, I began to share testimonies of how God healed people through a group of believers praying over a handkerchief (Acts 19:12). While speaking, a man in the back was in a wheelchair and he stood up and began to shuffle around the room. His wife and daughter began to cry. I asked for a report, and they said he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and normally could not walk. He walked out to his car that night as his wife pushed his wheelchair and loaded it in the trunk. God is so good!”(1)

Perhaps most importantly, let’s all commit to being practitioners of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paul provokes us to “earnestly desire” the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 14:1. This is not so we can claim higher levels of spirituality, but in order to serve people supernaturally and see measurable results in their lives, bringing great glory to Jesus. Consider this: every time the Holy Spirit moves and manifests Himself in power, it’s a testimony that Jesus died, rose again, ascended to Heaven, and received everything He paid and prayed for. He paid for you and me to be completely cleansed from sin so that we could become the dwelling place for God’s Spirit. N.T. Wright refers to Spirit-filled believers as “New Temple” people, a poignant description.(2) Jesus paid for you to be forgiven and indwelt by the Spirit; He prayed for you to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and fire, so that His very presence would rest upon you to change lives and environments. 

Bill Johnson famously said: “The Spirit within you is for your sake, but the Spirit upon you is for the sake of others.”(3) Miriam Evans states in this book regarding gifts of the Spirit: 

“Tommy and I burn to live a life that brings glory to Jesus. We longed to live a life like the early church in the Scriptures. Then one day, we decided to take a risk. We hosted a revival and miracle night and told people to bring the sick and those who were tormented by demons. We said they would encounter Jesus. We took our eyes off our inadequacy and focused on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We concluded that if Jesus instructed us, His Spirit would empower us. We saw dozens healed that night. It’s been seven years since I wrote this, and we are still hosting those meetings around the world. Countless people have received salvation in Jesus, baptisms of the Holy Spirit, and miracles. Will you take a risk that will be the turning point in your life?”(4)

Tommy and Miriam Evans have provided a treasure to the body of Christ with this new book, Decrees that Activate the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. It contains not only stories such as these, but prayers and practical, Bible-based steps of faith with which to receive and move in the gifts of the Spirit. It will also serve as a daily guide to living with the presence of the Holy Spirit resting upon you, and His power changing things around you. 

Pray with me:

Father, as we move into revival and reformation, we find ourselves being awakened to needed changes – both in the church, and in our secular environments. You are indeed preparing us to be the church when we gather to worship and when we go forth into our daily activities. The spirit of revival and the seeds of reformation are in our land. We ask You to bring both to fullness through the power of Your Spirit. 

Your Word teaches us – as does history – that revival is fueled by the gifts of Your Spirit. We must have the release of these precious tools, enabling us to demonstrate the power of the gospel and the resurrection of Christ. We ask You for this. And we ask that resources and teachings, such as this powerful book by the Evans, be breathed upon mightily by You. Stir hearts in the church with a hunger for these gifts of the Spirit; bring a holy discontent for doing ministry without them. Then, satisfy this hunger with impartation and activation, invading hearts and impacting lives. It is time for this, and we are asking for it. In Jesus’ name, we ask, and in faith we say, “Thank You!”

Our decree:

We decree that a new season is now upon the church, a season of Holy Spirit’s gifts being poured out. We receive these manifestations of the great Holy Spirit, our Helper.

You can find out more about Larry at LarrySparksMinistries.com and for Tommy and Miriam Evans, go to RevivalMandate.org. You can find their book, Decrees that Activate the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, on Amazon.

Click on the link below to watch the full video.

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1. Tommy and Miriam Evans, Decrees that Activate the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Destiny Image Publishers, Inc.: Shippensburg, PA), pp. 146-147. 

2. N.T. Wright, New Temple People Language: Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (New York: HarperOne, 2006), pp. 129-133.  

3. Adapted from the book:  Bill Johnson, Hosting the Presence (Destiny Image: Shippensburg, PA, 2012).

4. Evans, Decrees that Activate the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, pp. 140-141.