The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

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“In 1973 a church on Route 46 in Netcong, N.J., faced an insurmountable problem.
They had just built a new sanctuary on their recently acquired sight-acre property,
half of which was mountain and woods. They were told they would not be granted
permanent occupancy until they had sufficient parking in the rear. The trouble was,
40 feet of sheer mountain rose abruptly at the back of the church, leaving insufficient
space for the legally required parking lots. The cost to remove the mountain was
prohibitive for the church. One Sunday morning Pastor Ray Crawford reminded the
congregation of Christ’s promise, ‘If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye
shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to younder place; and it shall remove;
and nothing shall be impossible unto you’ (Mt. 17:20). Then he added, ‘If you
believe that, come on Wednesday night and pray with me that God will move this
mountain from the back of our church. ’39
Next morning the phone rang. It was the telephone company. They were planning to
erect a new building and needed fill for a large swampy site. They had learned that
the mountain back of the church had the correct proportions of sand, clay, and rock
for the required fill. Within a month the phone company hauled away 40,000 square
yards of fill, for which they paid the church $5,400, not only removing the mountain
but leveling the ground for the required three parking lots and preparing them for
paving.” 40
Almost every book that discusses the gift of faith refers to the life and ministry of
George Muller, who by faith operated an orphanage in Bristol, England. He cared
for 10,000 orphans over a period of 60 years, receiving $5 million in the process. He
began the work with only two shillings in his pocket. Without once making known
any need, he received enough to build five large homes, able to house 2,000 orphans,
and to feed the children day by day, all by faith and prayer. Never did they go without
a meal. Often the pantry was bare when the children sat down to eat, but help always
arrived in the nick of time.
One morning when not a speck of food or mild was on hand to feed the hundreds of
hungry orphans seated expectantly at the breakfast table, Mr. Muller prayed, “Father,
we thank Thee for the food Thou art going to give us.”
Then came a knock at the door. A baker stood there. “I was awakened at 2 a.m. and felt I
should bake some bread for you.