And he [Jesus] did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
(Matt. 13:58)
At a meeting in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, years ago, a man stood in the healing line. I asked him, “What did you come for?”
He said, “I have TB of the spine. My spine is as stiff as a poker; I don’t have any movement.”
This man couldn’t move his back. He could move his neck just a little bit. I laid one hand on his chest and one hand on his back. I felt that fire jump from hand to hand, so I knew his body was oppressed by a demon.
I said, “I command you, foul spirit, that oppresses this body to come out of him [I meant out of his body.].” The man had been saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, and was a member of a Full Gospel church. The demon was not in his spirit. It was in his body. His back was as stiff as a board.
After I said, “Come out of him in the Name of Jesus,” I missed it. Remember, Peter missed it after he stepped out of the boat onto the water, and unbelief robbed him of God’s best; he started sinking in the water. The nine disciples missed it, and unbelief robbed them of God’s best; they couldn’t cast the devil out of the boy.
I missed it when I said to the man, “See if you can stoop over and touch your toes.” Well, he couldn’t. I mean, he could barely move his head.
I put my hands on his chest again, felt that fire jump from hand to hand, and said, “Come out of him, you foul spirit, that oppresses this man’s body. I command you to come out of him in the Name of Jesus.”
Then I missed it again. I said, “See if you can stoop over and touch your toes.” He couldn’t move. His back was as stiff as a poker. I did the whole thing again for the third time, and he still couldn’t touch his toes.
Well, I thought that three times should be enough to minister to a person. I had given him more attention than anyone else. He walked back to his seat without having been helped. I didn’t realize that I’d allowed unbelief to creep in.
Confession:
I’m not going to let doubt or unbelief defeat me. Doubt and unbelief are of the devil. Faith and love are of God. I walk in love. And I walk by faith.
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.