Authority

Matthew 10:1-4

I want to gain an understanding of the privileges of grace afforded to us as children of God, and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am certain that I lack an adequate comprehension of the authority that Jesus grants to his followers.

Jesus sent out his disciples with authority to cast out demons, heal people from all kinds of sickness, and even to raise the dead to life.

“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him” (Matthew 10:1-4 NKJV).

Pancreatic cancer is one of the worst forms of cancer known to humanity in the 21st century. My friend and neighbor, Frances Munson, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1990. At the same time, actor, Michael Landon, was similarly diagnosed. Landon lasted but a few months. Frances had surgery. A stent was inserted into a bile duct. Chemotherapy was prescribed. Frances was given little hope.

Frances’ husband, Hugh, was my mentor and friend. He served as Vice President of Academic Affairs at Kentucky Mountain Bible College when I joined the faculty in 1991. Hugh also pastored a country church at Tallega, Kentucky. Hugh, along with my father, Eldon Neihof, had started the Bible college on a track toward accreditation in the 1980s. Early in my career, Hugh saw some potential in me for administration and accreditation. He began investing heavily in me.

Frances had always been frail. Hugh expected to outlive her. Yet, she seemed to recover and gain strength. In the early 1990s, I heard Frances share a public testimony. She spoke chilling words that I shall never forget: “I thank God for cancer.” She went on to explain that through her battle with cancer she had gained an intimacy of fellowship with Jesus Christ that she otherwise would never have known.

In the mid 1990’s Frances was blessed with the report that she was cancer free. She and Hugh celebrated by praising God for her healing and giving him all of the glory. Frances had been permanently and miraculously healed of pancreatic cancer.

April 9, 2007 Frances went home to heaven. She died of a heart attack. Her body was still cancer free. Hugh had preceded her in death just three years earlier.

Jesus grants His followers to heal people from all kinds of diseases in His Name. A sign at Tenwek Hospital in Bomet, Kenya announces the long-standing motto of the hospital: “We Treat. Jesus Heals.”

When God called me to Wesley Biblical Seminary, the seminary was dead. Chaos, despair, and toxicity reigned. But there were some prayer warriors who did not believe that God was done with Wesley Biblical Seminary. Dr. Rebecca Luman has been a part of WBS since her student days in the mid 1980s. Dr. Becky was grieving the apparent death of WBS. When God began speaking to me about leading WBS, Dr. Becky immediately threw her full support behind my candidacy and potential appointment. She accepted a request of the Board of Trustees to serve on a search committee that interviewed me.

Shortly after I joined the seminary, I met Melissa Clayton. Melissa was a student at Master of Divinity student at WBS. Nearly 60, she was a member of Dr. Becky’s discipleship group. Upon our first meeting, Melissa approached me with tears brimming in her eyes. She took me by both hands and leveled her gaze into my eyes.

“I have been praying for you before I even knew your name,” she announced.

I have often told people that I have witnessed a first-hand resurrection from the dead in God’s raising up Wesley Biblical Seminary. Internal debt, governance issues, inadequate leadership, had spiraled out of control, creating a spiritually toxic environment. God’s hand of blessing seemed removed. It seemed as if “Ichabod” had been pronounced. But God.

Wesley Biblical Seminary had been founded upon prayer, sacrifice, and faith. It has always been a radical demonstration of the miraculous. God was not finished with WBS, and he resurrected it from certain death. Someone recently commented, “God must want Wesley Biblical Seminary alive because he refuses to let it die.”

Deliverance from demons, miraculous healings, and resurrection from the dead are demonstrations of divinely wrought miracles. Jesus gave His followers authority to perform such miracles by faith in His Name. He continues to grant such authority today. Our God is a God of the miraculous. As you follow Christ in obedience and crucified surrender, He will grant you authority and faith to call on His Name for divine intervention that only He can perform.