I am beginning to answer. But it is not sure that I can answer all textes in one posting. Be however sure that in the course of time they all will be answered as far as the answer is not already given in a previous posting of mine. In Holland I now have a girl with 14 questions. And after you I go back from California (?) to Holland to give her an answer to her third question.
Here we go:
Luke 9 v 1 - 2. " When Jesus had called the Twelve together , he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick".
This text is valid up to now. The authority to do these things lies open to us. When Jesus sent out his disciples, the Holy Spirit had not yet been poured out, but Jesus gave them a temporary ' power of that Spirit', in awaiting of that glorious day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came to the believers to remain in those who remained filled with the Holy Spirit.
But nowadays we have many converts, but we don't have so many ' deep converts', ( not with their soul, but with their spirit). And we have even less ' born again' people and the number of people that has been filled by the Holy Spirit and stick to it, without hesitating or sliding back , is even lower.
But if we make profit out of all the good things Jesus left us , when he had said that delightfuil word: "Finished" (John 19 v 30), then it is now possible to do all the great things the disciples did then.
But our God is a generous God. I know of a minister in a dutch church , who did not reckon with all these nice things, (but however: he was a good Christian), and a member of his church said: "Pastor...I am so sick. Come and annoint me with oil" as James 5 v 21 says: "Is anyone of you sick ? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and annoint him with oil in the name of the Lord".
The pastor took with him two elders and they went very shy, but praising the Lord to the sick person and did, what James said. And the sick person was healed.
But of course Els....people who have had such an experience, have to go on with these things. I do not know, whether this pastor did like this.
