Unlock Your Supernatural Gifts: Master the 7 Stages of Spiritual Abilities in Your Calling
In the New Testament, God’s people operated with some incredible supernatural abilities.
At the word of Jesus, Peter walked on water. Later, Peter walked by those who were sick on the street, and his shadow healed them of their ailments. In another instance, he spoke a word, and a man and his wife immediately fell dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. Philip vanished and reappeared by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul struck a man blind for a time.
In fact, all “the apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people” (Acts 5:12, NIV). Their prison doors were miraculously opened. They praised God, and earthquakes shook the ground. They spoke in unknown spiritual languages. They cast out demons. They healed the sick. They raised the dead. They accurately predicted future events. They rejoiced in persecution and willingly sacrificed their lives for Christ, confident of the resurrection to come.
If all of these incredible feats were relegated to a bygone time, it might be easy for some to write them off as ancient myths or fairy tales. But these supernatural abilities are still operative today. In my own life and the lives of others, I have witnessed countless examples of miracles, signs, and wonders. I have seen people healed, demons cast out, and future events foretold. I have experienced visions, dreams, and powerful encounters with God Almighty. I have seen lives radically transformed by the power of God.
On one occasion, following a visit to a heart specialist, I received an unexpected report: my heart had undergone what my doctor deemed its own bypass surgery, marking me as a medical mystery. I attribute this unexplained healing to the supernatural power of God. Through learning to access Christ as a Healer, I have experienced divine intervention in my health for several years—including healing a degenerating disc, averting recommended back surgery, and overcoming conditions like high blood pressure.
In another instance, the Lord guided me to sell a church facility and build a new one, promising a doubling in the size of the congregation if I followed these instructions. Obediently, we sold our church property, temporarily leasing facilities for approximately two years, and we witnessed our ministry double before dedicating our new church edifice—a testament to the miraculous power of God.
Recently, we witnessed God bring healing to a baby who was diagnosed with a fetal intracranial hemorrhage. The married couple was expecting a son, due September 24, 2023. At 20 weeks into the pregnancy, an ultrasound revealed a mildly enlarged ventricle in the brain. On May 2, a follow-up ultrasound showed severe bleeding/blood on the left side of the brain (a level 4 out of 4), mild bleeding/blood on the right side of the brain, as well as a slight malformation of some facial features. At a follow-up appointment with the University of Michigan on May 10, the same findings were confirmed, along with potential deterioration of some of the brain (given the blood).
The diagnosis was a fetal intracranial hemorrhage (essentially a stroke in the womb). The doctors were unsure what caused this, as the mother was very healthy and had a complication-free pregnancy prior to this one. Given the severity of the bleeding, the doctors expected the child to have severe physical and mental challenges, in the rare event that he survived. Due to this, the doctors advised the couple to abort the child.
Hearing this news, the couple reached out to us for support. Following prayer, the Lord directed us not to terminate the pregnancy but instead to prophesy into the situation, make divine declarations, rebuke the evil one, and release gifts of healing. Our local assembly has multiple Kingdom Order of Ascension Gifts (KOAG) teams trained in redemptive justice practice and dedicated to redemptive casework, and one of our KOAG teams (along with myself) diligently worked on this case until its completion. Ultimately, the baby was born without any complications, demonstrating the healing power of God at work.
Throughout my journey, the Lord has brought physical healing, inner healing, and deliverance to many, along with family healing. Additionally, prophetic insights have revealed the future, guiding me in unpopular yet divinely inspired actions. Despite initial challenges, these commands showcased the foresight, brilliance, and power of God as the outcomes unfolded.
The complexities and challenges of our day are putting an intense demand on the people of God to authentically manifest His power like never before. The world is headed into some uncharted territory, and we must fully embrace supernatural enhancement in Christ if we are to effectively represent God and testify to our generation. I hope your appetite is heightened for this kind of enhancement. This chapter is designed to help you experience it for yourself. It all starts with identifying with Christ and experiencing authentic spiritual growth.
Authentic Spiritual Growth
God’s plan was always to rule the earth through His image. Humanity was originally made in the image of God and after His likeness, but after the Fall in the Garden, that image was marred. Thankfully, the eternal Word became flesh, and Christ Himself was manifested as “the image of the invisible God” to restore that image in the earth (Colossians 1:15, NIV). In light of this, authentic spiritual growth is the process by which the spiritual life is developed into the image of Christ—the perfect human blueprint. From God’s vantage point, becoming an enhanced human being involves experiencing personal evolution in Christ.
Once again, the more we see Christ, the more we are transformed into His image and the more power we have to embrace our enhanced humanity. For as we behold Him, we are being “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV), and “in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28, KJV).
The process of spiritual growth starts with conception—the new birth experience. When we place our faith in Christ and receive His Holy Spirit, we are “born again,” and we become recipients of the divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:2-4). We are born from above with divine DNA, and the “new nature” of Christ is activated within us. Then, with proper care, we eventually grow and develop into a state of full maturation in Christ.
Some of the byproducts of authentic spiritual growth include the following:
Discovering one’s true self
Ascertaining one’s reason for being
Bringing one’s God-ordained purpose to pass
Spiritual growth is as natural as physical growth, and at the most fundamental level, it involves some basic, intuitive practices. Just as our physical bodies thrive based on the quality of our diet, exercise, rest, and overall health, our spirits thrive based on corresponding components:
Spiritual diet
Spiritual exercise
Spiritual rest
Spiritual health
We must consider each of these factors if we are to become the enhanced humanity in Christ that God is envisioning. What are we consuming spiritually? How are we exercising our spirits and putting our faith into practice? Are we spending enough time resting our spirits in Christ? What is the overall condition of our spirits?
The journey of spiritual growth in Christ is experienced in seven stages:
