Almost 40 years ago, I was born again and called to preach the Gospel, and for the next 17 years I really struggled in the Christian life. I had my ups and downs, but they were mostly downs.
When I would read the book of Acts, it would stick in my craw; it bothered me. I was not seeing the manifestation of the signs and wonders of Acts in my ministry, and I knew of very few other ministries where there were supernatural manifestations.
I began to cry out to God. I knew that He had called me, but I was ready to give up the ministry, because there was no power in me. I was dissatisfied. My own life was a wreck—an absolute shambles—when someone gave me a copy of Kathryn Kuhlman’s book, “I Believe in Miracles” (1).
Then I knew that the signs and wonders were a reality; I knew that what the Bible said was alive today. So in 1970, I was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Books Which Changed My Life
Shortly thereafter, someone gave me some books by a man named Kenneth Hagin that forever transformed my life. I read “What Faith Is,” “Right and Wrong Thinking,” “The Authority of the Believer” (2). and several other books. I had received the power in the Spirit of God, but I did not know how to harness that power to my life.
Over the years, I have seen many who were truly filled with the Spirit and had the power of God in their lives, but that power was not really transforming and changing their lives.
You can compare it to an automobile. You can have one of the most powerful engines in the world, capable of speeding a car down the road at two hundred miles per hour. But if you do not have a gearbox and drive train to transfer the power of that engine to the wheels of the car, it will not go anywhere.
So you can have the power, be full of the Spirit of God, and speak with tongues, yet still abuse your spouse and family. You can be bound by everything you can think of until you learn how to harness that power to the wheels of your life.
Two-Fold Purpose
I believe in the signs and wonders, and they are manifested in my ministry as the Spirit of God directs and as He wills. But whether you realize it or not, signs and wonders are not primarily for Christians. God has a two-fold purpose for the gifts and the power of the Spirit.
- First, they are to empower the ministry gifts—the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They will operate in any Spirit-filled believer as the Holy Spirit wills, but mostly they are the tools of the trade for the ministry.
- Second, they are God’s method of advertising—not for Christians, but for sinners. The signs and wonders are so the world will know the reality and the power of Almighty God.
The Bible does not say that without the gifts of the Spirit it is impossible to please God. It says without faith it is impossible to please him (Heb. 11:6). God does not require sinners to exercise faith; it is impossible for them to do so. They are spiritually dead, and there is no way they can have the faith of God. But God expects His children to operate by faith.
We are not supposed to walk day by day by the gifts of the Spirit. We are supposed to walk day by day by faith. Do not think that sunrise to sunset is going to be one miracle after another, one supernatural manifestation after another, because it is not.
I expect the gifts of the Spirit to operate in my ministry, and they do. But for me, personally, to walk with God, I have to walk by faith. And so do you.
(1) Published by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1962.
(2) Published by Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith One Publishing
Apostle Frederick K.C. Price is the founder of Crenshaw Christian Center (CCC) in Los Angeles, California. He began CCC in 1973 and shepherded it into a ministry of world renown, with services held in the 10,000-seat FaithDome.
In 1978, Apostle Price received instruction from God to begin a television broadcast and, as a result, Ever Increasing Faith Ministries (EIFM) began broadcasting in five major television markets. Thus, the television broadcast soon after became global.
EIFM can be viewed on many television stations in all 50 states and in many foreign countries. Apostle Price is also heard on numerous radio programs and 19 Internet broadcast stations. Additionally, he can be seen on most social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and others. In 1990, Apostle Price founded the Fellowship of Inner-City Word of Faith Ministries (FICWFM), which later became the Fellowship of International Christian Word of Faith Ministries before disbanding in 2017. And in 2001, he established an East Coast church, Crenshaw Christian Center East.
A visionary and prolific author, Apostle Price is the author of some 50 books on faith, healing, prosperity, and the Holy Spirit. How Faith Works is a classic on the operation of faith and its life-changing principles.
Although he had already operated in the fivefold ministry gift of apostle, in 2008 Apostle Price was publicly affirmed as an apostle of faith. Under the mantle of the teaching gift, Apostle Price established several schools for ministry and formal education at CCC. Among them are Frederick K.C. Price III Christian Schools (preschool to 12th grade); the Ministry Training Institute in 1985; a CCC Correspondence School; the Frederick K.C. Price School of the Bible; and in 2008, the Apostle Price Ministry Training Center. Over the years, Apostle Price has received many prestigious awards, most notably the Horatio Alger Award and the Kelly Miller Smith Interfaith Award.
A year after his affirmation and after more than 35 years of service, Apostle Price stepped aside as pastor to formally install his son, Frederick K. Price Jr., as his successor. For years he served as the presiding prelate of both CCC West and CCC East and as the chairman of CCC’s board of directors. Having retired from his position as pastor and all other official duties, he restricts much of his travel.
A devout husband, Apostle Price has been married to Dr. Betty Price for 67 years. They are the proud parents of four children, ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.