’m gonna start today by telling you two stories that took place in my previous church, the Iowa City Vineyard, where I served as a staff pastor for five years.  The first happened when a young woman in our congregation brought her father to church.  Her parents, who were both long-time church goers themselves, were visiting from out of town.  And they decided to accompany her to our church on Sunday morning.  Our pastor’s teaching that morning was about healing.  It was part of a series of teachings on practicing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The young woman's father was moved by the teaching.  He felt inspired to seek prayer after the service.  He had a painful growth in his face, which surgeons were preparing to operate on.  So people in our church laid hands on him and prayed for the Holy Spirit to come and bring healing.  As they did, he felt God's presence.  There was tingling in his face.  He began to cry.  He knew that God was removing the mass.  And sure enough, when he returned to the doctors for surgery that week, the physicians were mystified to find that the mass they intended to remove had already vanished.