I want you to lay hands on him, he'll be filled with the spirit, and he'll be healed, and I've got a message for him. So there it is - the prophetic word, the whole area of words of knowledge, all flowing in together. Isn't it wonderful?
Now this is in the Bible. Start to look for it, where Jesus did words of knowledge; for example: He's going into town, there's a man up a tree. How did He know his name was Zacchaeus? It's a strange town, strange people, there's a guy up a tree. Whoa! Who's that? He said: Zacchaeus, come on down, I'm going to your place for tea.
How did He know his name was Zacchaeus? So words of knowledge can even get: names of people; dates; events; specific things that have happened. God knows everything about your life. Now that means it's a good incentive to get your life right.
I remember when we went to this prophet, I remember thinking: oh, I was in the terror of the Lord. I think: dear Lord, I don't want to have him say all my secrets out in front of everyone - I’ve got to make sure my life is right before God! So the fear of God comes in that kind of situation.
One of the meetings we were in there, I remember there was a whole group of us from the west had gone to this country; and there was one man there, the guy said: you're a businessman, aren't you? He said: that's right. He said: you're a leader in your church aren't you? He said: that's correct.
He said: no one knows that on your last trip, you were involved with a prostitute over in this country, and he specified the country. He was just shocked - but it was true, absolutely true; and so he repented right on the spot, and got his life right.
So we tend to think that no one sees what we do, and no one knows what we do; but God sees it all, and when the words of knowledge start to flow, it brings to the light pieces of information; not to shame or hurt someone, but rather to actually help the person.
So I would probably have done it a little bit differently than that, but in this particular situation, the guy came into a meeting where this was happening, and he came in with a sin hidden in his heart, so it was outed in the meeting.
Scary, so my first introduction to Pentecostal meetings was ‘scary meetings’. They were scary meetings alright - I was scared anyway. So when the supernatural operates, you hear people use the term: it 'freaked me out', you know, because they can't understand how this sort of knowledge would happen; but its words of knowledge, words (or a piece) of information.
So how does a word of knowledge come to you? Well it may come to you just as a picture. You just get a picture just come. You may just sort of see something. It may come just as a spontaneous thought - you just have a thought turn up in your mind; just suddenly you have this thought.
It may come as you feel, or you have an impression inside you, about someone or something; so words of knowledge are wonderful when they come, but they come as: a picture; a thought; they might come just as something very, very little - very, very small.
So when you get a word of knowledge, it helps if you ask for details, just enquire for a little more; so instead of it just being general, it becomes more specific. Then we find that the more specific it is, the more risk you take; but the more specific it is, the greater the release, and the blessing, for the person concerned.
So words of knowledge, mostly it comes as a very little impression. You have to ask God to give you words of knowledge; and when you get the word of knowledge, you'll still actually go through the wrestling: man, I wonder how to say that, and how can I share that?
Now most of the words of knowledge you'll get will be of quite a gentle nature, a simple nature. The ones I've described were people operating in a prophet office, so it was at a different level altogether. For example: Peter, operating in an apostolic office; and a man (Ananias) comes up to give.
He said: did you sell the property? We did. Is all the money from the property? It is. He said: how come you and your wife have conspired in your heart to lie, not to men, but to the Holy Ghost?
While you sold the property, and had the money, it was yours to choose what to do; but you have tried to lie to the Holy Ghost? With that, he fell down dead. Isn't that interesting? His wife came in, the same thing. How did Peter know that? He knew it by word of knowledge.
Peter was not worried about the amount of money; that was not the issue. The issue was hypocrisy.