Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
(Heb. 11:1)
Back when we were pastoring, I remember a woman who brought her mother from another county to see us.
Margene brought her mother, who was sixty-seven years old and had been in the asylum at Wichita Falls, Texas, because she had lost her mind. Margene explained to us that the state authorities had contacted her and her two sisters to see if one of them would keep their mother. The state said they would pay for the daughter to keep her mother.
The mother had not responded to institutional care. Those at the institution told Margene, “We can’t help your mother. Her mind will never be right.” She was unsaved and not expected to live much longer. She was going to die and go to hell.
When I looked into the mother’s eyes, I noticed that they didn’t look right. They were dull and listless. Margene shook her mother, put her hand on her shoulder, and said, “Now, Mama, come on, get up now. We’ve got to go home, because I’ve got to get back in time to cook supper.”
When Margene shook her that way, she suddenly blinked her eyes and looked at me. Then she said the only sensible thing she had said all day. She said, “Will I ever be any better?”
I immediately thought of Mark 11:23:
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
(Mark 11:23)
I pointed my finger at her and said, “Yes, you will, in the Name of Jesus.” That’s all I said.
Margene bundled her mother in the car and took her home. Now she didn’t look a bit better. She still looked as crazy as she ever did. But to me, that settled it. I said that to her in faith.
Faith is not moved by what it sees. Faith is not moved by what it feels. Faith is not moved by what it hears from the natural standpoint. Faith is moved only by what the Word says.
Confession:
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am not moved by what I hear from the natural standpoint. I am moved only by what the Word says.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
Rev. Hagin was born on Aug. 20, 1917, in McKinney, Texas, a son of the late Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin.
Rev. Hagin was sickly as a child, suffering from a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease. He was not expected to live and became bedfast at age 15. In April 1933 during a dramatic conversion experience, he reported dying three times in 10 minutes, each time seeing the horrors of hell and then returning to life.
In August of 1934, Rev. Hagin was miraculously healed, raised off a deathbed by the power of God and the revelation of faith in God's Word. Two years later, he preached his first sermon as pastor of a small community church in Roland, Texas.
In 1937, Rev. Hagin was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began ministering in Pentecostal churches. During the next 12 years he pastored five churches in Texas: in the cities of Tom Bean, Farmersville (twice), Talco, Greggton, and Van. In 1949, he began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist.
During the next 14 years, Jesus appeared to Rev. Hagin eight times in visions that changed the course of his ministry. In 1966, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he opened a ministry office. That same year, he taught for the first time on radio—on KSKY in Dallas. In 1967, he began a regular radio broadcast that continues today as Faith Seminar of the Air. Teaching by his son, Rev. Kenneth W. Hagin, is also heard on the program.
In 1968, Rev. Hagin published the first issues of The Word of Faith magazine, which now has a monthly circulation of more than 250,000. The publishing outreach he founded, Faith Library Publications, has circulated more than 65 million copies of books by Rev. Hagin, Rev. Hagin Jr., and several other authors worldwide. Faith Library Publications also has produced more than 9 million audio teaching tapes and CDs.
Other outreaches of Kenneth Hagin Ministries include RHEMA Praise, a weekly television broadcast hosted by Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth W. Hagin; RHEMA Correspondence Bible School; RHEMA Alumni Association; RHEMA Ministerial Association International; RHEMA Supportive Ministries Association; the RHEMA Prayer and Healing Center; and a prison ministry.
In 1974, Rev. Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training Center USA and in 1976 moved the school and ministry offices to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where they remain. To date, RHEMA Bible Training Center USA has 23,000 alumni, and RHEMA Bible Training Centers have opened in 13 other nations: Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. Together, the 14 schools have more than 28,000 graduates worldwide.
RHEMA Bible Church, pastored by Rev. Hagin Jr., began holding services in October of 1985 on the RHEMA campus in Broken Arrow and has since grown to become a thriving congregation with more than 8,000 members.
Rev. Hagin's daughter and son-in-law, Pat Harrison and the late Doyle "Buddy" Harrison, founded Harrison House Publishers in 1975 and Faith Christian Fellowship International Church in 1977. Both organizations are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Until shortly before his death in September 2003, Rev. Hagin continued to travel and teach throughout the United States and into Canada conducting All Faiths' Crusades and other special meetings.