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Christian
Education Pre-K-12
Richmond Academy
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Spiritual Healing
John 11:3-4 (KJV) “Therefore his sisters sent unto him,
saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. (4) When Jesus heard [that],
he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son
of God might be glorified thereby.”
The responsibility of the church is to set captives free – part of the great
commission. God tells us what is our responsibility and how to carry it out.
Ninety percent of all people in the world have some type of bondage: bondage is
anything that keeps you from full potential. God has been dealing with the body
of Christ to set us free from every bondage so we can carry out the work of the
ministry that God has for us. God wants to heal us and set us free from
jealousy, anger, fear, lust, hurts, bitterness and anything else that keeps us
from our full potential. The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the only way to
this breakthrough. Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life
and no man comes to the Father but by Him. The world does not like this, nor
will they listen to it – even some Christians. People want Jesus to be A Way
to God – and so they add Him to their other ways and yet expect deliverance and
change. BUT, the Bible is absolute: Jesus is the Only Way to deliverance
and fulfillment.
We cannot idly sit by and believe because Jesus went to the cross we don’t have
to do anything. Neither can we believe that the “works” we do will save us. We
must come to the balance of believing and living in the realm that I must know
my part in the Kingdom of God and understand why I am here today.
Verse 3 gives us a principle for healing: All healing begins with a confession
of need: “I am sick.”
Pro 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth
and forsaketh [them] shall have mercy.”
Jam 5:16 “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much.”
1Jo 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our]
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If we as Christians will confess our sins, then we will have healing. All
healing begins with confession of sins. We refuse only for one reason: PRIDE -
the greatest sin of all. Pride is what keeps us from being healed and delivered.
The church is not the place to play a game and tell everyone we are alright when
something is wrong. That makes us liars worse off than the world; and that is
why the church is a joke in many places.
Sanctification is the process of coming into the holiness of God. And holiness
is simply “wholeness.” God wants to heal the entire person, spirit, soul, and
body. Salvation will bring you to life, but your soul and body can still remain
a mess. God wants His people WHOLE. Confess your pride every time you take upon
yourself your own way of living and making decisions; confess every time you are
afraid others will find something out about you that might make them feel
differently about you.
Statements people make: “This is nobody’s business, but mine.” Folks this
is the day when we need to humble ourselves and say: “I NEED TO BE HEALED.” It
is time for ministry like we have never known before, and you are important to
the body of Christ.
God hears when we are open and honest. The question is asked, “Why doesn’t Jesus
answer immediately?” Because if the Lord gave us everything the first time we
asked, we would never grow up. How many of you remember when you were infants?
All you wanted was a bottle. But you didn’t always get it when you wanted it –
you had to be weaned so you would grow-up. Today we have a society in which
parents are still trying to bottle feed their 30 year-old children every time
they have a problem. WHY? Because they never grew up.
Some delays in life come because of demonic interference [Daniel prayed for
three weeks before the answer came. Why? Because the Prince of Persia withstood
him.] Do we believe breakthrough is possible today? It hasn’t happened yet
because the Prince over our communities has withstood us. But we must not give
up the cry for breakthrough. The answer is about to come.
Some delays come because of Divine purposes and usually because that purpose of
God is much greater than we can fathom. I believe this about the church. God is
working a greater purpose than we can comprehend or anticipate. Such was the
case in John 11 where we consider the question: Which is greater—to heal someone
or to raise him from the dead?
From verse 32-33, we see Lazarus dies. Most delays, for those of us who are
striving to obey the Lord, are to produce a godly compassion for what God is
going to do. It will be the love and compassion that we pour out that will cover
a multitude of sins.
Then we see that “Jesus wept.” This love is not agape, but phileo. The
world is going to have to see the church accept them in their sickness and sin.
Phileo is friendship. We have been so afraid the world’s cooties might get on us
we look down at those who are not in the kingdom.
Jesus then says, “Take away the stone.” Here were family members in
mourning for their loved ones. [Can you imagine what would happen if some faith
healer walked into a funeral home and told the family to take their dead loved
one out of the casket.] Why would Jesus do such a thing? Because He was showing
them their part and their responsibility to bring deliverance and healing to
others. We can’t save anyone!
“You roll away the stone.” What are the stones: hardness of heart, wounded
hearts, angry hearts. Sometimes it is stones of the demonic. That is why He
said, “In my name you will cast out devils.” Do you know in Africa they
understand the difference between the demonic and mental illness. We ignore it
in America.
When the stone was removed then Jesus spoke loudly, “Lazarus, come forth.”
(vrs.43) And he lived happily ever after! No, Jesus said, “Loose him and let
him go.” And that is the responsibility of the church - not to let them come
into the body and remain in their bondages, but to loose them so they can become
what they were meant to be. We must teach them the fullness of the Holy Spirit –
to be led and fed with the daily manna of Christ’s body and blood and to depend
on the leading of the Holy Spirit to live their lives. We must accept them
through the changes they will experience so they may endure to the end and be
saved.
Let God heal you today. It is time to come to your full potential and time for
the power of the Holy Spirit to remove the stones so resurrection power can
manifest.
-Pr. Steve
April Newsletter 2008 |
Spiritual Healing
Pastor's Journal April 2007 |
Crowns for Worship |
Caution
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Biblical
Counseling for Leaders
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