It's all about Jesus

Archive for August, 2011

Healing – Please

 “Can you help me?” she said. I’ve done everything that they told me to do. I’ve prayed the prayers and I believe God heals. I don’t understand why it’s not happening! I mean, I keep speaking to the mountain just like my pastor say to do, but nothing is happening!

            I’ve heard this cry more times than I care to remember; People who are desperate for healing in their body or for a family member that is being ravaged by sickness or disease. These are people who are children of God and who Love their Father dearly. They are confused and desperate because everything they have been told to do, the things that bring about healing from God, are not working. They listen to the testimonies, one after another, of how God has healed this one or that one but fail to see the manifestation in their own lives. They read the healing scriptures, even post them on their walls, promises from God that He has healed them, but day after day it seems to elude them. This is all too common in the church today, but it doesn’t have to be this way!

            Healing, or anything concerning the kingdom of God for that matter, does not occur because you say or do the right thing. There is no magic incantation or formula that will bring about a healing.  Even the name of Jesus, although all powerful, is not the universal key that once spoken opens every door. It’s not about what you say or do, it’s about what you believe. Yes, speaking and confessing healing scriptures is good, it will remind you of God’s will for your condition, but without the belief in what He did, the words are powerless.  It’s more about why you speak them than what you speak.

            If you pray a prayer or confess a scripture because that is what you have been taught to do, or because you have seen others do it and get healed, then there is a very good chance you will miss your healing.  However, if you, through a personal revelation of who God is and what He has done, confess them as a confession of praise to Him then the power begins to flow. It all stems from a personal revelation of Him that cannot be obtained by the laying on of hands, listening to a sermon or teaching, or even seeing a miracle. It only comes as we view Him for who He is.

            “How can we view God?” you might be asking. Hebrews 1 says that Jesus is the express image of the person of God. That means He is an exact copy in nature, power, and authority; there is no difference between the Father and Son. Jesus Himself said that if you see me (Jesus) than you have seen the Father. (John 14) So all we need to do is look to Jesus to get a revelation of who the Father is. Jesus loved us so much that He gave Himself over to be beaten, whipped, and crucified so that we could be reconciled back to the father. When His flesh was being torn from His body on the whipping post, your sickness or disease was on His mind. His love for you is greater than any trouble you may be facing and He has already poured every ounce of His love out for you. It is His love that has set you free, and living in the realization of that love will cause all sickness and disease to fall away. Get to know your father, not because you need a healing, but because you want know Him better. Ask Him to give you a greater understanding of His love so that you will have a more intimate relationship with Him; I guarantee you He’ll answer you. I bet you He’ll show you Jesus!

Category:

Christian Life, Healing

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Fresh outpouring

I keep hearing people talk about and cry out to God for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit, or another visitation of His presence. That really sounds wonderful and tantilizes every emotion we have. After all who wouldn’t want God’s presence, who wouldn’t want Him to move and revive our nation? It brings back memories and emotions of the time I heard God’s audible voice, the times of visions, and visitations. Those are wonderful times, who wouldn’t want to feel those things again.  Even though I would be first in line to get anything God is dishing out, I’m sorry to say those prayers are not biblical and even inhibiting the progression of the Kingdom of God in our nation.  Let me explain.

  1. God has already poured out His spirit. Peter clearly declares in (Acts 2:16-17) that what the people experienced and others were witnessing over 2,000 years ago was God pouring out His Spirit. If it is already done, why do we think God needs to do it again. Why are we saying that God has been holding out on us all these years so we need to beg Him to finally give us what we need to see things change.
  2. To get another outpouring implies that we may need more than what we have been given. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says that if we have been united with Him then we are one spirit with Him. We have been given the fullness of Jesus in us. (Colossians 2:9-10) What else do you need? God has already poured out His Spirit and poured Him into us. Now we are to walk in all authority and power as Jesus did. That makes it sound like the problem is with us and not God. Exactly! We need to stop asking God to do what He has already done. Stop begging Him to do what He has commanded us to do.  The so-called leaders of the church in America need to stop blaming God and the non – christians for what is wrong with this country and start taking responsibility for their inaction. Yes every believer is to blame but those who have embraced leadership take the bulk of the responsibility for their lack of action and for teaching others the error of their own ways.
  3. Another implication of asking God to pour out His Spirit again is that you are saying that the Holy Spirit is no longer with us. You can not give something that you have already given. There are not two Holy Spirits. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. If He was poured out way back then, He is still with us.

We need to quit prophesying what should happen then think we actually did something. That is like me declaring that I will feed my kids but never fix anything to eat. I’m not against prophesy, we need it. It is the testimony of Jesus. We should never despise the proclaiming of what our Father is saying to us. However, to prophesy without acting on that prophesy is like faith without works. If God warns us of a tornado, earthquake, catastrophe of any kind we need to understand what He is saying. He is declaring to us the plans of the enemy, with the implication that we are to then act like the sons of God we are and stop it. We have been given dominion over this earth with the authority and power to execute that dominion. We need to stop declaring the enemies plans as if they are the will of God. This nation, and even the world for that matter, will never change until we stand up and act. Stop acting like a spiritual welfare state, always expecting God to bail us out, and do what He has empowered us to do. The kingdom of God is within every believer, we must teach and demonstrate to them what that means and how to act like kings in this Kingdom so that we will see the transformation that everyone is begging God for.

Category:

Christian Life

Thoughts for today 8/3/2011

I spent much of today thinking about a friend of mine.  He hasn’t been a friend but for a handful of months, and I’ve never even met him in person, but I’ve grown to love and respect him as if I had known him most of my life. Anyway, he sent me a message about a young girl who had been miraculously healed of cancer and about another who had died. How you weep for one while bursting with joy for the other.  I began asking the Lord can one healing make up for the death of another, does healing another make up the “spiritual payment” so to speak for the one that was lost.  Even though my heart desired to hear my Father say yes, the only answer I got was no.  You see, Jesus has already paid the price for each and every healing, and when someone isn’t healed that’s just part of His inheritance that we lost. I said we lost, because that is exactly right, we are commanded to heal the sick.  I’ve prayed for people and they have died, Jesus didn’t decide not to heal them, He didn’t get some “greater glory” by there enduring pain and then their death. The truth is I failed. No need to sugar coat it, I don’t need someone to tell me, “well at least you tried.” For me, trying doesn’t count, we are guaranteed success through the finished work of the cross if only we will believe. In those cases, I didn’t believe; I failed. Jesus will never regain that part of His inheritance, there are no do-overs. Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story.

Enough about me, back to my friend. One of the things that I’ve grown to love about him is his overcome at any cost attitude. I actually have two “new” friends like that. Although a death may be a lost healing forever, he has learned to make the enemy pay in a whole new way.  You see, he uses each and every failure as a stepping stone to bring forth a greater manifestation of God’s glory in him and through him.  He uses those experiences to become more like Jesus, and by that, destroying more works of the devil. His life is becoming the reality of what the enemy meant for evil God has turned it for good.  I admire both of my brothers for that.  We all will be faced with failures along the way. We don’t expect them, but they will occur. But if you begin to understand Whose son you are, and what authority and power He has given you, those failures become fewer and fewer. If you do like my friend and look at a failure as a challenge to seek our Father for greater understanding of who he is and what he has been given, and take a stand that you will not lose like that again, you too will start making the enemy pay like my friend does. My friend knows something that most don’t, it’s not about him, it’s about being Jesus to the world. He will not give up until you no longer see him anymore, but that’s o.k. you’ll be seeing Jesus!

To my two “new” brothers. I love you guys, you are an inspiration to me. I will continue to follow you as you follow Jesus!

Category:

Not so daily thoughts

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