5 Smooth Stones

a song of deliverance upon her lips. On another occasion a man, who had taken an oath to kill Finney and had armed himself with a loaded pistol to accomplish his purpose, fell from his seat, crying out, ‘I am sinking into hell. ’ After a sleepless night he too experienced joy and peace in believing. Men of the strongest nerves were so a ff ected that they had to be carried home by their friends.” Historically we have seen an increase of the supernatural signs and wonders surrounding the evangelist ministry as it has continued to be re stored to the church. A dramatic increase came during the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the time of the Azusa Avenue revival in the early twen tieth century, which has continued to increase globally since that time. While there are signs that follow all believers, and especially the ministries of the apostle and prophet, it is the evangelist ministry and the preaching of the gospel that seems to be surrounded by an abundance of signs, wonders, healings, and cures. And Jesus said we could do greater works even than He did. John 14:12 “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.” Bringing someone into the new birth has been considered by some to be the greater works that Jesus was speaking of here. I do not limit what Jesus was saying simply to leading people into the new birth or baptism of the Holy Spirit. I believe it includes all the miraculous works which followed Jesus. While I do not believe that any one person can hope to match the works of Jesus, (John 21:25) I do believe that corporately we, the body of Christ, are currently doing more and greater works than Jesus did while He was on earth. Apostle Paul was ordained an apostle, a teacher, and a preacher (2 Timothy 1:11). Everywhere he went he evangelized and encouraged this in others. When he instructed his spiritual son Timothy to do the work of an evangelist he was not indicating that Timothy was an evangelist by calling, (Timothy was an apostle, as evidenced in 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6), but Timothy would, by doing the work of an evangelist, have the fruit of the evangelist’s ministry, and through that would ful fi ll his own apostolic ministry. The same can be said to other Christians. 2 Timothy 4:5 “But you be watchful in all things, endure a ffl ictions, do the work of an evangelist, ful fi ll your ministry.” The fi ve gift ministries are primarily intended to equip the church to do the works of ministry, Ephesians 4:11 “And He Himself gave some to be 109