HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 30

 Let us look at two HUGE passages of scripture that are pillars of our spiritual foundation. The first one is, “Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) And the second one is found in Matthew 22: 37-38, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and will all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is very much like it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” We are always ready to hear about God’s blessings but rarely wonder if there are conditions. We have heard that loves us just the way we are and that is true, but that does not mean that He is happy with us to “remain” the way we are. The Lord understands where we are in our spiritual development and I believe all things are taken into consideration but we must realize that God is NOT a respecter of persons and neither does He compromise when it comes to His perfect truth. This means He does not favor someone or dislike a person and He does not let anyone get away with something or slip by through a secret deception. We are all accountable and responsible to climb the same stairs and go through the same doors – the same way.

I was at the American Cancer Centers Hope Lodge again tonight and was so moved with compassion that I could not help but cry as I tried to sing and speak God’s Word. I am no medical expert, but I know there are some serious situations there and those who seriously need a miracle. God is the creator of all things and nothing is impossible with Him. In all of the Bible we never see one example where someone was brought before the Lord and He said, this problem is too much for Me. Cancer is not more than God can handle or any other problem known to mankind. It says that He healed them ALL! In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 8 it says, “Jesus Christ the same YESTERDAY, TODAY and FOREVER.” This means that He has NOT changed His mind about healing and still has the exact power and desire to heal us that He did from the beginning.

 Why Speak Faith?

God honors FAITH! God listens to our words and He desires to hear them spoken in faith! Words are spiritual containers of power that can be used to damage someone’s feelings or make them feel invincible! Speaking God’s Word can change your life, direct your future, and allow you to get your life in line with God’s Will! Words can carry God’s Power to literally heal your body, bring financial blessing to your circumstances, and bring the promises of God’s Word into this natural realm to bless you and your family!

 Believe It!

Words have POWER! We must HEAR God’s Word in order to have faith then we must KNOW the Word in order to believe what the Word says. The Word of God contains the power within itself to generate the power to accomplish whatever it is sent to do. If you believe God’s Word, and use it as God intended for you to use it, then His Word will begin to be activated in your life. You must ACT on the Word in faith! The best way to act on the Word is to believe it!

 Confess It!

Speak the WORD! What better way to hear God’s Word than to speak it out loud and allow your own ears to hear your own voice. “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17) Can you think of any better way to spend our time than to speak God’s Word? The church has grown weak because of the lack of prayer and positive confession. Agreeing with God’s Word is becoming BOUND by His promises as it opens heavens doors to all the covenant blessings that have been provided for us.

Receive It!

Confess with a PURE HEART! We do not go on a journey unless we plan a route and neither do we build a house without specific blueprints. Likewise the Christian life is not a happy go lucky way of living where we do not know God’s Word or have responsibility to be sanctified. We have been called to live holy, obedient and to follow His voice. “God is a Spirit and those that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit, and in Truth!” (John 4:24) We are not using Him to accomplish OUR will – but rather He is using our faith and confessions to fulfill HIS will within us! Amen.

HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 29

 

I was browsing some websites and reading some commentaries the other day from Christian leaders and that were being critical of the teachings about health and wealth. I understand that we have a right to be upset when false doctrine is being taught, but there is Godly truth about the way God wants us to live and we should not be afraid or avoid sound doctrine. There may be certain individuals that are focusing on the flesh and have misunderstood God’s intentions but that does not mean that all covenant teaching is wrong. I believe in free-will and that God has given us a choice with many things in this life, including how much of Him we want in our life. Our finances and health are subjects we talk about constantly yet for some reason many believe He should not be brought into the situation or that we should not approach Him boldly because we are an heir and seed of Abraham according to the promise. Do we not believe that He is interested in supplying our needs or that He has called us to function with an abundance of resources in order to do what He has called us to do? Why would we approach the situation with a “que sera, sera” attitude and not speak God’s Word over our lives with the comprehension and faith that He will respond to our prayers and confessions according to His will? When we agree with His Word and reach out by faith to embrace His promises – why do people feel this is not in line with the way God wants us to live? I believe that God’s covenant contains “all things” for those who seek first His Kingdom and righteousness.

When anyone becomes serious about allowing God to “take the wheel” of their life, it is crucial to take a step back and see just exactly what this includes. Many believe the old Christian phrases of “taking up our cross and following Jesus” and songs like, “I surrender all” are just talking about going to church and being a better person. These may be great reminders and steps in the right direction, but the entire strategy must become a faithful process of learning and understanding or the desire to PROGRESS with Him will be short lived. We have spoken in the past about the differences between a whim and a passion and we have agreed that we will NEVER become the person Jesus wants us to be unless we allow Him to light us on fire with HIS excitement and enthusiasm. The reason why the religious world drags itself around in a less than desirable representation of Christianity is because they are going at it not only half-heartily but half-interested. Becoming a true disciple of Christ is realizing that Jesus wants to be LORD in every area of our life, not just becoming a member of a local church. God’s idea is spiritual transformation – not just wearing a coat and tie or having a Jesus bumper sticker.

Most of us realize that a human is made up of three distinct areas. There is a spirit within each person and this spirit has either still it its original state or has been changed by Jesus. If it is still in its original condition then it is lost and in need of redemption. If a person has been born-again, their spirit has been transformed then they are now a Christian and been given a promised eternal future with Jesus. Technically, this is not to be confused with the soul as the soul is the second area which includes the mind, conscience, the emotions and where many call the heart. Sometimes we refer to the soul as the Spirit but just for the sake of identity purposes, we will refer to the soul as the emotions and area of mentality. Actually, the soul is the second part of this trio and includes the mind where all the decisions are made as to, what, who, where, how, when and so on. It stands in the middle between the spirit and body as the mediator, judge and decider for all the person will say, think and do. The spirit and the soul bring their request before the “heart” and according to how SERIOUS a person has become about their destiny, decisions are made each moment as to which side it will obey. When the mind decides the direction the other side is “overruled” and thus the person is committed to following that particular direction. This system of “free-will” living is a standard form of operation that has been given by God for every human and is what the final judgment from God will be based on. The third part of the triune human is the body. It is called the slave because it is the physical “housing” that is responsible for carrying out all deeds, actions and request from the other two. When the mind decides the direction the spirit is “overruled” and thus the body is committed to following. If the spirit is given priority, the mind is overruled and the body will follow the decision. This system of government is a standard form of internal operation that has been given by God for every human and is what the final judgment from God will be based on. There will only be 2 choices in every decision you will ever make. God’s will – or your will.

I have made a brief reminder of how decisions are made to follow into this line of thinking about how important it is for us to focus on all THREE parts of our being. We talk all the time about prayer and Bible study and developing an intimate relationship with God within our spirit. And we talk about guarding the windows of our soul and exercising self-discipline within our mind because it is the battlefield of spiritual warfare and the place where crucial decisions are made. But now it is time to observe the body and see it not just as a servant but how we have been given the responsibility for its condition and maintenance. The Lord has said in first Corinthians 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defiles the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.”  We notice here that God is very proud of the body He has given to us and knows better than anyone what an awesome and beautiful “machine” He has created. Every machine in order to keep it running right needs certain fluids and regular adjustments or it begin to show signs and lessen its potential for running at maximum capability. We only have one body and when we abuse it by not taking care of it. Yes, we can pray and ask God to fix it when it breaks down but it would be God’s perfect way according to His divine blueprint (His specific will) if we would listen to His voice and practice preventative maintenance. There is no way to spend a year teaching and discussing about health and blessings without taking a serious look AT OUR health! It seems we would rather discuss the theology and doctrines about Jesus healing the sick while ignoring self-discipline and our responsibility to live healthy. Churches should include teaching more about our temple being holy and living healthier instead of spending all their energy begging for money! Sometimes it makes one wonder if the churches really love and want to help the people or are they just interested in financing the organization! Amen!

Some people are obsessed with diet and working out and neglect their spirit while others may spend their time reading about the Lord while eating unhealthy and never paying any attention to their declining body. Some even go to the extreme of “worshipping their body” and become so filled with pride that they pay more attention to the creation than the creator. Others deny themselves the pleasures of delicious foods because they are afraid it may do this or that, when the Lord encourages us to enjoy His blessings with moderation. I believe God is saying there needs to be a balance within our thinking and for us to pay equal attention our spirit, body and mind so that we can enjoy the complete blessings of God and walk in abundant covenant life of TOTAL salvation. When we can learn to see all three areas of our being from God’s perspective we are developing into a higher level of spiritual maturity and wisdom. I believe our gift of salvation from God not only has rescued our spirit but also can transform our mind and optimize our body so that we can become a highly effective representative of His Kingdom.

This brings us to focus on our topic – taking control of our health. This is where some will roll their eyes and silently say, “Who cares.” I realize the body is a powerful influence and has a strong case to present to our mind about how much it loves pleasure, contentment and satisfaction BUT it is time to see the true reality of what is happening. I believe there are many people lying in hospital beds, nursing homes and yes even in the graveyard because they have not taken care of their bodies. Yes, of course the body deteriorates and becomes more fragile with age and there are sicknesses and diseases that are a curse from the fall of the human race BUT that does not mean that we give up fighting! It seems the flesh naturally accepts the humanistic approach that is observed in Isaiah chapter 22, when the people were being attacked by the enemy and instead of praying to God and fighting in faith, gave up and decided to throw a party. This is where the notorious saying, “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die” came from and gives us a serious indication of just how lazy and immature the flesh is. Our body is not the one with the conscience or any type of level headed discernment – it just wants to be satisfied like a little baby and is basically controlled by simple desires. If we allow our mind to side with our flesh, we become not much more than a civilized beast that cares about nothing except itself. This type of life is EXACTLY what Jesus came to deliver us from! I am not saying that we are not to eat and enjoy life, but we are to place our spiritual responsibilities higher than our fleshly cravings.

So, how do get started in this process of changing our body? The first step is the same as it is with anything we do; we have a strong desire and a solid vision! If we are not sold on this idea with every fiber of our being we will fail. Yes, it will be difficult because it is hard to “make” a body get up and do anything unless it is something we really want to do. If we could use the same energy to get in good physical shape that we use to enjoy what we love – we could do it in no time. Dragging and forcing our body around screaming and kicking is NOT a pleasurable task and let me warn you there will be lots of “standoffs” and confrontations but remember the body is the servant and will always do what it is told to do if the mind and will is serious about yielding control! The next step is another key approach that we use to advance in our spiritual life; awareness! I have just written a new book called, “A lifestyle of worship – living in the awareness of God’s presence” and it is basically encouraging us to train our mind to become aware of the Lord in all things at all times. This is how we will begin to notice for example, what we are eating and why. We can study and do research pertaining to herbs and supplements and holistic health alternative approaches to natural healing. There are many natural benefits and enhancements that can do far more than pharmaceuticals and have been given to man from the Lord for the purpose of maintaining and maximizing the human body. Let us remember that taking care of our temple will give us more years that we can travel, walk and do the work of the ministry. If we become sick and out of shape and need a wheelchair before our time, then it will LIMIT how much we can go and do for the Lord. Speak LIFE and HEALING over your body with positive confessions and help your body be strong and healthy by taking care of it. Amen. Here is the second list of positive confessions. May you be edified and encouraged as you speak these confessions “out loud” in confidence and FAITH that God is creating strength, wisdom and maturity in you so that you can become what Jesus died for you to be. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

 I AM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JESUS CHRIST

 

I AM FORGIVEN AND WASHED CLEAN BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS

 

I AM SKILLED AND DILIGENT IN MY WORK AND HAVE FAVOR

 

I AM FILLED AND SATURATED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

I AM AWARE OF GOD’S PRESENCE AT ALL TIMES

 

EVERYTHING I AM INVOLVED WITH PROSPERS AND IS BLESSED

 

MY SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT AND SENSITIVITY IS GROWING STRONGER

 

YOU ARE GIVING ME REVELATIONS OF YOUR WORD

 

I AM “ALLOWING” YOU TO DO A DEEP WORK IN MY HEART

 

I AM DETERMINED TO SURRENDER MY WILL TO YOU

 

I AM LETTING GO OF MY PLANS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU

 

MY OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN MY SACRIFICE

 

MY WEAKNESSES WILL NO LONGER REIGN OVER ME

 

I WILL RESIST THE ENEMY AND HIS TEMPTATIONS

 

YOU ARE GIVING ME STRENGTH TO LIVE AS A REMNANT DISCIPLE

 

I WILL NOT WORRY ABOUT LACK BUT WILL BE ABLE TO HELP OTHERS

 

I AM FILLED WITH YOUR LOVE, JOY, TRUTH, AND HOPE

 

I AM FOCUSED AND DETERMINED TO STAND FAITHFUL TO YOU

 

I AM LED BY YOUR SPIRIT – NOT MY CARNAL EMOTIONS

 

I WILL SOW YOUR SEED WITH PASSION AND GENEROSITY

 

I AM ALWAYS AWARE OF A DIVINE APPOINTMENT

 

YOU ARE MY WHOLE ARMOR, MY SHIELD AND MY SWORD

 

YOU SAID THAT YOU WILL CREATE THE FRUIT OF MY LIPS

 

WORDS OF LIFE WILL FLOW OUT OF MY MOUTH LIKE A RIVER

 

I WILL LEAD OTHERS INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD

 

I WALK IN PERFECT PEACE AND I TRUST YOU COMPLETELY

 

NOTHING CAN STOP ME FROM KNOWING AND LOVING YOU

 

JESUS CHRIST RULES AS LORD ON THE THRONE OF MY HEART

 

I COMPLETELY SURRENDER MY WILL TO YOU OH LORD

 

I CONSTANTLY THINK AND SPEAK POSITIVE THOUGHTS

 

I AM A SEED OF ABRAHAM – AN HEIR ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE

 

I AM IN BLOOD COVENANT WITH THE GREAT I AM

 

GOD IS MY FATHER AND I AM HIS CHILD

 

AMEN.

 

 

 

HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 28

 

Ok, we are going to mix it up a little and change our format for a few weeks. We may come back to the questions and answers later but I still want to stay on our theme. I feel the Lord leading us to focus on confessing His Word and in each of these messages for the next few weeks I will share a list of confessions that you can print and keep for your own quiet time with the Lord. I pray these will bless your life and inspire you to make your own list as you spend time with Him and listen to His voice. I try to speak these confessions each morning and I have been amazed at what a difference they are making in my life. This is not a magical formula but rather a spiritual principal that is in line perfectly with the divine order of God. Of course the enemy will do everything he can to prevent you from doing this so it is going to require some very strong determination. I want to share a revelation that may seem simple but I promise it is truly profound. We have heard Romans chapter 10 and verse 17 all of our life and many of us may not have understood the fullness of what it really means. It is true, we have associated it with hearing the gospel and receiving salvation through Christ by faith and this is exactly correct. However, after we were born-again we may have thought this verse was no longer needed in our Christian journey – may we reconsider? “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of God.”  Maybe the reason why the average saint does not have faith is because they are not hearing or listening to the Word of God! Faith did not stop when we accepted Christ into our life – in fact it just began. How do we become filled with faith so that we can continue and progress within our divine blueprint? We saturate our ears and mind with CONFESSING His Word? When we speak OUT LOUD we are hearing the Word of God and INCREASING our faith line upon line, precept upon precept! I just strongly feel compelled to emphasize the connection between “faith comes by hearing” and “with the MOUTH confession is made unto salvation” until it becomes illuminated within our heart. So how important is speaking the positive confessions of God’s Word? The difference between life and death! Amen!

I am not really sure how many people read these articles each week but I have faith that God’s Word does NOT return void and accomplishes His perfect will. These messages are given as a gift to those who desire to be stimulated and refreshed with thoughts about the Christian journey and when they are released I pray that it is good seed that will fall on good ground. The idea behind reading and writing about God and our spiritual responsibility is that we might be INSPIRED to search and study on our own in order to enhance our personal relationship with Him. The more we learn about the Lord and draw near to Him, the deeper we come to KNOW Him – and that is the meaning of life. It is good to listen to others because God can reveal different interpretations and insights that maybe we have not thought about before. I was given the words to write a book recently and went through the process of publishing and releasing it to whoever wanted to read it. I have given it to the Lord and pray that He is now in control of it and will direct its destination. If for whatever reason I have disobeyed the Lord in writing the book, then I repent to Him and pray that He forgives me. Many times I think about all the ones who are in the Lord’s service who seek God’s instructions and with faith and confidence they say what they feel the Lord wants them to say while not really knowing who is listening and who is daydreaming. “Lord, please encourage your servants and remind them that you love and support their efforts and that their labor is NOT is vain. Amen” The Word is given in hope – and received or rejected according to the gift of free-will. God will bless and reward all that you do for Him and He will deal with the ones who walk away. Continue to pray that their eyes will be opened and that they might see and experience the love of Jesus.

If you are one of the ones that have been following this series, you have noticed that we have not traveled down a familiar path that many have taken. There are so many people that approach healing and blessings differently but one thing I have noticed in particular is the tendency to put the cart before the horse. I realize that Jesus ministered quickly and efficiently and much of that had to do with Him being God and trying to do a great amount in a short period of time. I realize that the people of His day did not really know any more than we do today about the deep spiritual concepts and ways of God. They were simple folk that were needy trying to find where the miracles were happening. We find this happening today when a revival breaks out and people begin to travel where the power is being manifested. I am not discouraging anyone from going to wherever an outpouring is being released however, the people of Jesus day did NOT have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit neither did they have the presence of Jesus residing on the throne of their heart as Lord. I believe this makes a very important point when it comes to the way we approach all situations and needs.

We are half-way through this year and I have not really mentioned that much about having hands laid on us or going to faith-healing meetings. I have also not endorsed the idea of us all going to the hospitals room to room and laying hands on everyone. Why? Because that is not what the Lord is saying to do. It is true that are to be instant in season and out to pray for whoever needs a touch from the Lord and this is what it means to walk in His Spirit. If you have been praying and the Lord is calling you to go to someone and lay hands on them by all means you certainly need to follow the Lord’s instructions but until He directly speaks to you it would be wise to listen and wait. Yes faith is real and God honors it but within the big picture of His blueprint, there is also divine order and that is directly connected to His perfect will. If I really believed we could empty the hospitals, I would not hesitate to do it. I do believe we could make a difference in many people’s lives but we are just not that interested in getting involved. We have exhausted the old saying, “I’ll be praying for you” to the point we have become numb to it. I attend a church of nine hundred and I met with a prayer group a couple of weeks ago and there were 5 of us. The TV has stolen the prayer life out of the church while removing their attention away from God. Where has the attention been transferred to? The flesh! Love and prayer go hand in hand. We pray for what we love. If we have no love we will demonstrate no prayer. This is a revelation Word from the Lord.

What we have seen in the questions and answers so far this year is a “behind the scenes” discussion that may be slower but more in-depth as to how God thinks and what is expected of us in order to live in His divine reality. There are so many books and teachings that contain the historical accounts of the miracles of Jesus which is wonderful but we can read those for ourselves. What we seldom find is the inter-workings of why things are the way they are. Some people only want to know what time it is and could care less about how a watch works but I have always wanted to know how all things are connected to God’s plans. There are reasons why things happen and certain ways we are to approach them. The abundant life found in John 10:10 that Jesus came to fulfill in us and through us, is not an instant gratification or magic formula that we can just “grab and go.” But rather, it is the result of a spiritual life of discipline and determination to TRAIN our mind and heart to see Jesus as our LORD! Until we have our priorities in the right order, we will not walk in the fullness of His glory or be the representative of His Kingdom that Jesus died for us to be. Confessions and our prayers are practiced in the attitude of holiness and obedience to the Lord. Our will must become intertwined with His will.

 

LORD YOU GO BEFORE ME AND MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE – POSSIBLE

 

YOU OPEN DOORS FOR ME THAT NO MAN CAN CLOSE

 

YOU GIVE ME DIVINE FAVOR IN ALL THINGS

 

MY FAITH AND CONFIDENCE IN YOU IS INCREASING

 

I AM BECOMING SPIRITUALLY BOLDER AND STRONGER

 

I AM ADVANCING IN MY FAITH AND CONFIDENCE OF GOD

 

 ANGELS ARE ENCAMPED AROUND ME AND WORKING ON MY BEHALF

 

I AM INCREASING IN GOD’S ANOINTING AND POWER

 

MY TALENTS, ABILITIES AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS ARE EFFECTIVE

 

MY HEART IS BEING CHANGED FROM THE INSIDE OUT

 

I AM BEING PURIFIED BY YOUR HOLY REFINING FIRE

 

MY MIND IS BEING RENEWED AND TRANSFORMED

 

I AM INCREASING IN THE WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR WORD

 

I HAVE A SOUND MIND AND ALWAYS KNOW YOUR DIRECTION

 

I HEAR YOUR VOICE AND FOLLOW YOU IN EVERYTHING

 

YOU ARE USING ME TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR MIRACLES

 

YOUR LOVE IS MANIFESTED AND REFLECTED IN MY LIFE

 

OTHERS SENSE YOUR PRESENCE WHEN THEY ARE AROUND ME

 

I AM HUMBLE AND YOU POUR YOUR GRACE AND MERCY UPON ME

 

I AM HEALED, I AM HEALTHY AND FREE FROM DISEASE

 

BY THE STRIPES OF JESUS I RECEIVE TOTAL SALVATION

 

YOU PROTECT ME FROM THE ENEMIES DEVICES

 

LORD YOU LISTEN TO MY PRAYERS AND ARE WORKING ON MY BEHALF

 

I REPENT OF MY SINS AND FAILURES

 

FORGIVE ME FOR MY NEGATIVE WORDS TODAY

 

LORD HEAL THE HURTS AND WOUNDS WITHIN MY HEART

 

HELP ME WALK OUT WHAT I KNOW

 

I GIVE YOU ALL THE GLORY FOR MY LIFE

 

LORD I RECEIVE YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT THIS MOMENT

 

IN YOUR ARMS IS THE GREATEST PLACE IN ETERNITY

 

THANK YOU JESUS – AMEN

 

101 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 27

 

53. Do you believe that prayer without faith and works are just empty words? Yes. The entire purpose and reason behind communicating with God is not only being convinced that He is concerned and responding to our request, but to listen to what He is telling US to do within the situation. When discussing about our health and finances, it is not always about what people can do to help us, but we must understand that God has given us a responsibility to help others. Hiding in isolation or withdrawing from civilization can many times expose our selfishness. It has never been God’s idea for us to absorb all of His blessings as we peek through the keyhole while the world suffers. Faith is directly connected to works and crucial to igniting the power that produces miracles. Remember, we are God’s hands and feet. Without faith He knows we are not serious about our love, and without having charity we are just playing an empty religious game. It is sad that many church goers do not have a clue about what it means to pray or study the Bible. So, we can see why the general state of the church is anemic and lifeless.

We can actually take this a step further and realize that many church goers do not do the works of Jesus or become directly involved with the great commission because they do not care! If Christians are not willing to sincerely pray for those in need, what makes us think they will physically respond? If the church crowd does not love their neighbor enough to intercede in prayer for the ones they know who are hurting, then we can know they cannot be counted on to help or give. James has a very sobering message that should speak to the hearts of every child of God who wants to do what is right. “What does it profit, my brothers, though a man say he has faith, and have not works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; yet you do NOT give them those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yes, a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show you my faith BY my works. So, you believe there is one God; you do well: but the devils also believe and tremble. But you need to understand, O vain man, that faith without works is dead” (James 2:14-20).

54. Will God bless a person with divine favor if they ask for it? I believe yes. Divine favor is a very important component when we are studying about physical healing and being blessed in our finances. We are reminded again in the book of James, that we are invited to “ask” for wisdom and we have no reason to think that anything we need in this life cannot be added to our list of prayer request as long as they line up with God’s will – His Word. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ASK of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For do NOT let that person presume that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). One of the tragedies with the churches is they have lacked teaching about having an intimate relationship with Jesus and instead have influenced the people to focus on a historical perspective of religion. Humans have a tendency to be generally lazy especially when it comes to serving Christ and love the idea of having all the blessings they can get but do not really want to study and discover the spiritual responsibilities that are associated with being in covenant with God. When we learn the revelation about the power of intercession, we will then become much more confident to believe that miracles can become reality. When we learn the revelation of love, we will begin to see that God is not Santa Clause but the master and keeper of our soul. We do not need luck, wishes, schemes or ideas to receive from the Lord, and even positive confessions can become meaningless if we are not being sincere within our heart. God said that He creates the fruit of our lips but we must also remember that He is not mocked and does not honor our selfish pretenses.

Holiness is not an option when it comes to divine favor; it must become a passionate desire and a strong determination to LIVE with a Godly attitude. There is a legitimate spiritual principal of sowing and reaping but we are not to turn this into a manipulative business strategy. God works within the measuring scale of sanctification and purity and is not a coin operated machine that we can exploit or gerrymander. Our motives are as clear as glass and we are fooling no one but ourselves if we entertain the thought that we are using God’s generosity for wicked intentions. We are to be a truth seeker not a hypocrite and living in the flesh while trying to appear religious only makes things worse. For example, if someone is really serious about turning away from a specific sin, first they must become literally sick over how it is damaging their relationship with Jesus and be willing to suffer whatever it takes to become victorious. A desire like this can be included as a prayer request where they can go to God with a pure conscience and by faith ASK Him to give them strength to resist temptation so they can be set free from bondage. Another example of simply asking God for help is – parking favor. Some may believe this is silly and that God has more to do than help us find a front row spot to park in but I believe this real. For many years my wife has prayed and confessed about parking favor and she receives it constantly. God cares about the little things in our life BUT is waiting for us to activate our faith by ASKING Him to intervene. Divine favor can include not only landing a job but being placed into a position where you would have normally been overlooked and then anointed with the ability to do it! Everything from receiving raises and advancements, to finding the best price, and being in the right place at the right time; these can be open doors of divine favor. “My son, do not forget my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: so shalt thou find FAVOR and good understanding in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:1-4). If you will believe – you can receive.

 

101 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 26

51. Since you are exposed to human suffering on a daily basis through your outreach ministry, how do you keep a positive attitude and remain excited and enthusiastic? I have realized over the years that I can do nothing in my own strength. If I have an attitude that I am going to change people or circumstances I am not thinking clearly and have already missed the boat. I see things every day that upset me and cause me to cry. I am concerned about people’s problems and I care about those whom I do not know personally. All I know and see is that many are living in pain and the agony that comes with being alone. I personally feel that many who live with physical infirmities often lose their minds as a consequence of isolation and weight of hopelessness. For those who venture into these prison cells and dungeons of medical “housing” facilities to see the forgotten ones, it is crucial to stay close to God and constantly ask Him for strength. Strength for what? To have the courage and desire to love others no matter who they are or what they have done. To understand that no matter what someone is going through we can reach out to them and give them words of comfort. It does not matter where they come from or anything about why, where or how – it is becoming a conduit for the love of Jesus to pass through us. We are burdened for those who are hurting and we can pray that God will come to their rescue and remain excited about who the Lord will introduce us to next. I was sent word through a nurse the other day that a patient wanted me to come to his room and pray with him after my Bible study. He was too sick to get out of bed. When I came in, he told me his cancer had aggressively moved from his feet and legs into his genitals and there was nothing that could stop it (except Jesus). He had already lost 3 toes and half of his foot and his legs were spotty with large growths and lesions. I kneeled on the floor beside his bed, held his hand and cried. I prayed and left. Yes, this is a heart-breaking situation and I remember throughout my prayer I kept saying “Jesus, please have mercy.” Friends, there is much suffering in this world and I realize we do not want to think about it. This is why people hate hospitals, nursing homes and funeral homes. However, it would be good if we could just stop for a moment and realize that God is in every room watching over every person and listening to their cries. It is because He has compassion of those who are suffering and we are to have the same. Even with all of the hurting and sadness I see, I look forward to going back and reaching out to as many as I can. I cannot do it in my own strength but I ask the Lord to help me understand what “the least of these” really means. And when He tries to explain these are really “HIM” then I arise in faith and receive His sufficient grace. If not for the constant blessings and mercy of God – where would any of us be?

52. Do you ever wonder if some of the individuals you minister to are being held in bondage by the devil or being punished by the Lord and in these cases, can you help them? This used to seldom cross my mind, but the more I study about the blueprint God has drawn and the chastisement we face for living in disobedience, it does open up our eyes to the probability. I desire to be so spiritually sensitive that I could immediately recognize the cause and the solution but I am obviously not wanting it strong enough. I am convinced that many people are suffering for their sins either directly or indirectly from the Lord. I say from the Lord, because if they are Christians then the Father is directing His work and overseeing what He is allowing to happen. In these particular cases Christ can use us to deliver His message and that would be a divine appointment. But this does not automatically mean they will be healed or delivered because they will need to deal with the situation personally with God. On the other hand, the Lord may be trying to tell us to back off and let Him finish what He started. I believe there are many times when we are just to give a word of encouragement, pray with them and keep our nose out of it. I feel that we can possibly do more harm than good if we are not listening to the Holy Spirit. If the Lord tells us to speak, go ahead and bring the word but let us not include our opinions or try to psychoanalyze the entire problem. Of course Jesus came to set the captives free FROM sin and He also delivered many from the consequences OF sin, and I personally believe He wants to use us to help Him continue His work. Jesus is speaking in Luke 4: 18-19, “The Spirit of the Lordisupon Me, because He (the Father) hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” So, I see clearly that we are NOT to stay on our comfortable couches day and night and feel sorry for the less fortunate. We are get off our lazy rear-ends and go to the highways and bi-ways and demonstrate God’s love. It seems the church of today is more like the priest that was described in the story of the Good Samaritan. The priest was someone of all people that would have known the ways of God and the right thing to do but instead crossed to the other side of the road with the intentions to avoid having to see or deal with someone else’s misfortune. Modern Christians can talk all day long about right and wrong but never seem to get around to practicing all of that good “preaching.” Do we doubt that many are deceived and blinded by sin? Of course not! Do we believe that God punishes His children and that many are experiencing the results of disobedience? Absolutely! This is going on all around us and it just comes down to us walking close to the Lord and being able to tell what is going on so that we can do whatever He is saying to do. It is time to set our face as flint and become truly faithful.

101 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 25

 

49. Within the subject of sickness and poverty, how do you view God’s thinking toward those who have made their own mess and self-inflicted their situation? The Bible is so astounding and wonderful that at times I am moved to tears at the mere connection between what I read and how my brain, heart and spirit combine to reveal to me a layer of interpretation. My personality is a moody thinker that fluctuates between a naïve sad dreamer, and a truth seeker with a little melancholy, perfectionist and extremist thrown into the mix. I have experienced many blessings in my life along along with my share of failures and disappointments, but something I have noticed throughout the journey is the reality of reaping and sowing. I ended up in a divine appointment counseling session the other night with a middle aged man that has come to about as low a point that you could imagine. He was handsome and well dressed and I presumed he had it “going on” in what we would consider normal guy trying to live for God. He went on to tell me how he went from a highly successful buisnessman with a beautiful family to now not even having a place to live. I asked him out of curiosity just where he was staying and when he pointed to his car, I knew this was a serious situation. To make a long story short he had made many horrible descions over the last few years and amazingly his life had fallen apart while him and his wife were leaders in a church. As he began to uncover the ugliness of what was going on “behind” the scenes, I began to realize that he had become his own worst enemy and that his recent condition was the result of his own making. Does this mean we should not have compassion or be willing to help people like this? Of course not. We are all sinners and if not for the grace of God it is no telling where any of us would be. If you look around closely, you will see that we are directly impacted by what we have done or have not done. There are consequences to our actions and consequences from us making the decision to NOT take action. This also plays a part to how successful we are in following our blueprint in order to build our life the way God intended. Sometimes is difficult to help someone that has allowed their life to become a huge mess. For example you can put someone up in a motel tonight, but ewhat about tomorrow night? You can feed someone for a week but what about next week and so on. Humans can only help each other to a certain extent and the message to the world is that each one of us must make the divine connection to God on our own in order to become what Jesus died for us to be. It is the right thing to reach out to people and help them even when they have caused their own problems but we need to use our spiritual discernment and pray for wisdom so that we can know how to help and when we are getting in the way of God teaching someone a valuable lesson about life.

It is true that accumulating more “things” in life does not nessesarily bring true satisfaction or happiness. I want us to observe what Ecclesiastes say’s in chapter five and six, and how the key to happiness is illuminated for us if we choose to digest it.  In verse eighteen of chapter five, it speaks of how good it is to work, prosper and enjoy the bounty which comes from honest labor.  Verse nineteen continues and reveals a crucial aspect of where the wealth has come from, “Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.”  There is a very important key hidden for us here which will unlock a powerful revelation. We must stop and realize what God is saying about those who have been given the “power to eat” the blessing and others who have not been given this special ability. This endowment to enjoy is the contrast between those who live content and satisfied, compared to the ones who are never happy no matter how blessed they are. The next chapter begins with the acknowledgement of an evil that is common among all people who become absorbed in a self-centered lavish lifestyle. It speaks of those whom God has allowed to have so much “stuff” there is nothing in the world left to desire, verse two say’s “yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof. .” What happens when we eat something? It brings pleasure, it satisfies, supplies, strengthens, fulfills, and generally makes us happy, in other words if we could narrow all of these benefits down to one word, I believe we could agree on the word – enjoy.  And I believe this is exactly what God is wanting us to realize.  When we obtain blessing from God and understand his love for us, we need to openly praise him and enjoy every drop of goodness and pleasure he has willingly given us. Wealth and blessing without being thankful to God is an empty, miserable existence that does not feel joy or peace. There are actually people who walk through their beautiful mansions and yet spend much of their time weeping from depression and are constantly absorbing drugs and alcohol in order to escape the reality of how lost they are. It is difficult to comprehend the amount of miserable individuals who have safes filled with gold, banks filled with money, exotic sports cars and priceless collections of treasures yet are so tortured within their soul they entertain thoughts of suicide on a daily basis. In the Bible, riches are many times referred to as being vanity and for those who do not see the reality of wealth or use their riches as a blessing to others do not have the peace to enjoy what they have been given. This revelation is the key to satisfaction; “it is not how much we have – it is how much we can sincerely appreciate.” If we cheat and steal in order to gain wealth it will not bring us happiness. If we consider our wealth as a reward for our flesh then there is no gratefullness to God because we are too busy being proud of our accomplishments. True peace and contentment comes from knowing that God has enabled us to become prosperous and that our success is a part of our divine destiny which is to devote our life serving and loving God and our neighbor.  Man’s freewill provides the liberty to live in peace or pain and as the writer of Ecclesiastes say’s in chapter four verse thirteen, “Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king who will not accept advice.”

50. I have read about demons and how the devil attacks us, but just how much does this prevent us from having what God intended? Of course we are always reminded in John 10:10 that the thief (devil) has come (to earth) to kill, steal and destroy but Jesus said I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. This scripture contains many volumes of theological debates and most of it centers on whether or not we are to take this literally. I personally believe we can. We are in a full blown war with an evil force that is trying to make us sick and poor. This dark kingdom is also known to make others rich in order to distract them from God and ruin their soul. Whatever the “thief” can do in order to steal our time he will try it. We are all subject to general oppression from the dark side and this is being vulnerable to spiritual attacks, temptations and influences but a Christian cannot be possessed. Demon possession is real. There are probably more cases than we can even imagine. Not all cases are the same in appearance as some individuals are held in the bondage of sickness and disease, others with addictions that cause them to be slaves to poverty, and others are powerful leaders that use their authority to carry out the devils evil agenda. There are many that do not believe that Satan can hold humans in the bondage of sickness which can destroy their lives but whether they accept it or not it is true. Demons cannot possess a Christian or steal their spirit but they have been directed to harass, influence, tempt and confront the child of God with every type of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual weapon they can think of. It is our responsibility to train and take up our armor in order to walk through the battles and not be defeated. Psalm 91:5, 10, 11, “Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”

I have “pondered” for years about the will of God and the will of man and it is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Let’s just go over some quick points. God has a will and man has a will. God’s will has 2 parts – GENERAL and SPECIFIC. God’s general will is His Word and it applies to everyone straight across the board – no exceptions – no compromises. God’s specific will is what I call our blueprint and every person has been given one. They are all unique and personalized. For example, the Holy Spirit is involved within our specific blueprint leading us and whispering to us about divine appointments and detailed instructions like turn here or to give that person some money etc… God gave each of us a “free-will” which means we are NOT a robot but can do whatever we choose within a certain point. Ok, on one hand we have God’s will that He wants us to follow and within us we also have our own free-will which influences us to make decisions. The perfect way to satisfy both is for our will to become determined to follow His and this opens the door to the meaning of life. Salvation includes the concept that when an individual accepts Christ they are to surrender their will and embrace God’s will. The Bible says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, ye cannot serve God and mammon”(Matthew 6:24). Wealth or health was never given just so that we could selfishly indulge in them because in this attitude they can and most likely will become idols that control us. We are blessed so that we can be used as instruments to help others accomplish God’s will. The good news is that we can enjoy wonderful health and large amounts of finances IF we seek FIRST His Kingdom and His righteousness. Jesus said, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless NOT my WILL but thine be done.” (Luke 22:42)And this is where we have the problems! Humans (Christians or not) want to draw their own blueprints! What is a blueprint? It is a diagram that instructs and explains how something is built. What are we building? All of us are constructing our life and we are either building on the solid ROCK of God’s truth and learning how to follow, abide, walk, demonstrate and obey His desires toward our destiny – OR we are building on the selfish carnal sands of corruption and decay.

So, when we study about God’s plans and what (if anything) that can alter or prevent them, I would have to say that nothing can stop God from doing what He desires. God is in total control of ALL things and is the ultimate authority and power and nothing or no one can make Him do what He does not want to do. However, there are many situations that happen constantly that He does NOT want to happen. For example, He may allow people to produce drugs and even watch them sell it and others to use it but I can definitely say that none of this is a part of His specific will. However, He is allowing it to be done for only reasons He knows. On the other hand, many things are predestined by God and nothing can stop them BUT not everything is controlled or made to happen. It is true that Jesus was predestined to save whosoever would believe on Him – but the man who jumps off a bridge because his girlfriend breaks up with him is acting on his free-will and NOT following the abundant life blueprint that God had planned for him. Nothing surprises Him because the Almighty has foreknowledge of every event (Omnipotent and Omniscient) and every thought since the beginning but we are not robots and He does not make everything happen! This means we cannot blame Him for everything because man has been given the freedom to step outside the boundaries of safety and obedience and do whatever he thinks is right in his own eyes. We also cannot always blame the devil for preventing us from walking in the fullness of God’s blessings. We can prevent Satan from stealing our abundant life by listening and following God’s voice. We have been given the responsibility for watching over our blueprint and accomplishing our destiny!

 

 

101 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 24

 

47. You talk about the blood covenant of Christ all the time but what has this to do with health and wealth? Understanding the mysteries of God is all about having a revelation of what they mean and embracing them into our life? Anyone that has ever been truly changed by the truth of God has received a personal revelation of God’s intention. Before Saul of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle, he experienced a very dramatic spiritual encounter with the living God and to say the least Jesus became the greatest revelation in his life. We all may not have such a powerful testimony of our conversion but nonetheless when we surrender our will to Jesus we receive a life-changing understanding of His love. Having a revelation of God’s gospel is being totally convinced that it is true – and being willing to lay down our life for it. This level of faith is what the martyrs had when they were burned at the stake while singing Amazing Grace. Until God’s Word becomes a revelation within our heart and mind – it is just an accumulation of facts. Knowledge is wonderful because building our education expands our collection of information but it does not necessarily cause us to KNOW or experience what we have learned. For example, we can read about what it was like in a concentration camp but we will never really know what it was because we were not there. The same is true with reading about certain individuals and learning about what they accomplished yet without knowing them personally it leaves us with only a surface comprehension. Experience is our most effective teacher as it is one thing to read and know about what Jesus did, but it is nothing compared to actually knowing Him.

The Word of God is very much like other things in life in which we learn and practice. When we were small, we were told the Bible stories and were excited about the characters and awesome events that were thrilling and captivating. However, these true stories were not just so that we could know what they went through; they also serve to help us build a solid foundation of spiritual wisdom within OUR life. God has every intention for His children to grow and mature into a more serious student of His Word so they may continue to be delighted with the mysteries and secrets of His glory and since His Word is His will, it makes perfect sense to realize that the more of His Word we absorb – the more our relationship with Him can develop into deeper levels of intimacy. We can read and study as much as we want and in turn this means we can have as much of God as we desire. Nothing or no one is actually stopping us from knowing Him except US and in this context, may we choose to learn how to be more than just a religious spectator holding a ticket to heaven. May we develop a passion to love who He is.

Surface Christians do not want anything to do with blood covenant because it is a holy vow of commitment to resist sin. I realize that many Christians have chosen not to believe in total salvation or the absolute truth of blood covenant theology because as we have mentioned before there are many levels of spirituality and we can choose to wade in the shallows or swim in the deep – it depends on how serious we are about studying God’s Word and how serious we are about our faith. We sing, “O how I love Jesus” and many times it seems that we just love what He has done for us and not what He is expecting of us. It is true that He loves us very much and is very happy that we responded to His call, but that only pertains to HIS part of the covenant. The other side of covenant that most Christians are not interested in has to do with their accountability and responsibility associated. The idea was that God would save us and fill us with His Spirit and then we would absorb His Word and allow our mind to be renewed which would continue transforming who we are. All of this was not just a vision of us being blessed while we lie on the couch and eat potato chips, it was for a PURPOSE and that was to allow God to speak and move through us just like the Father moved through Jesus! “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me – so I speak.” Do we believe that God has sent us and gave us His commandments just like He did with Christ? Were we not called to sacrifice our will so that God’s light could shine within us? Was it not God’s idea for us to OVERCOME sin and the devil so that His glory could be manifested? Maybe we have never realized that we are on a mission from heaven and that God is waiting for us to put on our spiritual armor and become engaged in the war against the kingdom of darkness. I know this sounds repetitive but if we look around we will notice that Christianity has become tired, fat, comfortable and lazy. The Lord desires to share with us about our sin and yes it may require us to re-examine our theology and be willing to expose our heart. In order for us to research the scriptures and obtain the revelation of absolute truth, our doctrines and the creeds of our religious background may need to be dis-assembled to make room for a more complete perception of divine reality. “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in me: or else believe Me for the very works sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he (you and I) do also; and GREATER works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. IF YE SHALL ASK ANYTHING IN MY NAME, I WILL DO IT.” (John 14:11-14)  What in the world does this mean? Do you believe this is really true? Now brother, we know this cannot be taken literally, this must be taken as just a figure of speech. Well, if we take a scissors to the Bible and cut out all the things that we have been told are not true and that disagree with what our church says, then it seems we would be building our own concept of God’s intentions. We must agree that if we misinterpret God’s Word, we will not fulfill His will because His will is His Word. If we try to manipulate and reconstruct what it means because we do not want to be completely sold-out to Him, I believe we are following in the footsteps of the Pharisees, but if we are serious about abandoning our will and obeying Him as the disciples did, then we will KNOW what He is talking about. His blood covenant has nothing to do with a life that we design on our own but it has everything to do with spending time with Him in the secret place praying, studying and doing what He says. His blood covenant explains who we are IN HIM and what He has provided for us but is conditional upon our obedience TO HIM.

48. Some Christians believe that spiritual authority and miracles ended when the disciples died, is this related to the blood covenant? His covenant is a divine connection between Himself and man and we enter into this holy vow through our faith and obedience. Salvation is provided by the blood of Jesus and is the door to our holy covenant with God. Receiving Christ is where our old life ends and our new life begins and this includes understanding the entire truth about covenant. Most people only want to learn about how they have been redeemed, heaven is waiting and they can live however they want. However, we cannot truly comprehend God’s Word without the Holy Spirit opening the eyes of our heart and unveiling the revelation of divine truth. We are saved because we heard God’s Word thus leading us to see our lost condition and our need to be redeemed. This conviction of our conscience allowed us to see the illumination of God’s endless love and we responded in faith to embrace His forgiveness and His salvation. The privilege of being born-again is beyond words however, what most Christians have never accepted is that this is only the beginning. The idea of being saved as a one-time event is limiting the concept of salvation because we are actually BEING saved every moment. We have also not been taught that salvation is not only referring to spiritual deliverance and security but TOTAL salvation also includes the covenant promises that pertain to all areas of our life including the physical, mental and emotional dimensions. God is NOT mocked or deceived with what most so called Christians believe about salvation. The sad truth is that many who are convinced they are scholars of religion are actually lost and blind.

Many people have been told that all a person needs to do is believe in God and they will have salvation. I am not saying this is not a necessary component of being redeemed but I am saying this is not ALL that is required. If this was all that was needed to be “saved” we could agree that Satan and his demons are included with God’s family and will be in heaven with us. Believing is complicated because it involves faith and trust on a spiritual level. Much of what humans believe is based on emotions and is centered on making them feel good. When people hear about Jesus paying for our sins and that all they need to do to go to heaven to live forever when they die – is believe, this takes a load of worry and fear from their mind. Sadly, this is about all that most people want to become involved with because when it comes to learning the details of salvation they are not interested. It is like buying a refrigerator but throwing the owner’s manual away. All we need to know is that we plug it in and it works. People do not want to invest the sacrifice to study and learn about what God has called them to do “within” the grace of salvation. Since they do not want to discipline their flesh in order to walk in the Spirit of God, they are willing to live without the miracles and wonders that could be a part of their life. The believer’s spiritual authority is an avenue of power from the throne of God and is very much alive as it was when Christ walked the earth. The disciples dying had nothing to do with the believers becoming lethargic and spiritually lukewarm. Jesus has never changed and has always called His people to carry on His work but this will always include understanding and embracing His blood covenant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

101 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 23

45. If God punishes all people (whether Christian or not) with disease, suffering and death, could we safely say that many people in the hospitals and nursing homes are reaping the consequences of disobeying God? The context of Romans 6:23 is referring to eternal life but we cannot ignore the overall statement that death whether physical or spiritual is the consequence of sin. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Like we have said before, there are different camps or views concerning whether or not God inflicts us with disease as a form of chastisement or is it just a natural result of living in a fallen environment. This is such a large subject that it would be a book itself because there are so many examples of both. I do not believe there is much of a disagreement that God in the Old Testament intentionally afflicted people with sickness and all types of physical harm and death. We are reminded in the book of Numbers chapter 16 that the children of Israel became frustrated against Moses and Aaron and rebelled against them. A man named Korah led this revolt and the Lord became angry and sent a deadly plague among them. Moses and Aaron prayed to God and made atonement to God for the people trying to quickly stop this judgment but before the plague could be stopped, 14,700 people died. We also remember that God’s flood drowned the entire world when he saved Noah and his family and His fires burned up the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their sin. We must also not forget to mention the story of Job and the devastation that was allowed by God and even in the early life of Jesus we see that many young children were slaughtered when Herod felt threatened and attempted to kill the young King.

We can more easily comprehend the punishment for sin among those who deserve it, but we realize in our studies of the Bible that many within these accounts were innocent. There are children in each of these instances and yet the hand of the Lord is front and center at the cause or allowing it to happen and did not spare those who were without blame. Some may say that these punishments were intended toward those who were NOT God’s people as in the case of saving only Noah and his family and delivering Lot’s family from Sodom. But in the case of Korah and the children of Israel, one would think that this congregation would be considered God’s people and yet if Moses and Aaron had not fallen on their face and interceded, it seems as if God would have killed them all. Of course the story of Job is one of the most intriguing mysteries of the Bible as God’s Word says that he was blameless (not perfect) but a God fearing man that tried to do what was right yet ended up covered from head to toe in painful boils as a way of proving his loyalty. In this particular story, we need to take note that God did not initiate or directly inflict this tragic assault Himself but rather allowed Satan to do whatever he wanted to this family to test Jobs faithfulness. Yes, many servants were killed and even 10 of Jobs children died along with much of everything he owned being destroyed. In order to stay on track with trying to answer the question, let us not put all of our marbles into this one illustration but in the light of this story, we can definitely learn reverence to the sovereignty of the creator. I have heard for many years the old saying, “good God – bad devil” but in the complexity of God’s general and specific wills, we consider events as things that were made to happen and things that just happened on their own. To continue trying to answer the question, we can agree there are some people that are suffering as a punishment for their specific sin and others from the curse of the fall. In some situations, sin has opened a door for consequences that might include any number of things including death. This does not mean that God directly struck them down with a disease but rather the suffering is more like the result of how touching a hot stove burns the fingers.

So, can we think of a modern day example of God directly punishing someone with a disease? Remember this is not including us obtaining a sickness because we drank a quart of vodka every day or became infected with a sexual disease because of a promiscuous lifestyle. I am referring to God sending cancer on someone because He is angry and disappointed with them. I believe that much of the subject comes down to how we perceive the blood covenant of Jesus. Some feel that if anyone is in covenant with God and lives a holy life of obedience, that His promises of abundant life will remain active. This includes physical provision, physical healing and health and of course all spiritual blessings. This view believes that God will chastise for disobedience but would not intentionally give His child a disease as a punishment. One of the thoughts behind this logic is that it is not recorded in the ministry of Jesus where He said, “I cannot heal you because my Father is in the process of punishing you.” It is true that sin was probably the “cause” of many of the problems He healed but we find that He healed (and forgave) ALL that reached out to Him in faith. This sheds a light on the connection between sin and sickness such as in the example of the man they lowered through the roof in Mark chapter two. Jesus forgave his sins FIRST and then he was released from his paralysis and walked out. Another story that I believe is worth mentioning is found in John chapter nine. One day Jesus passed by a man that had been blind from his birth. His disciples asked Him, whose sin caused this infirmity, the man or his parents? Jesus replied, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” Jesus spit on the ground and made a paste of mud and anointed his eyes and told him to wash in the pool of Siloam. When he washed his eyes he could see. What do you think this was about? I personally think that many people are held in the bondages of sickness and disease and need the saints to continue accomplishing the works of Jesus. I believe the sins of omission will include Christians being told that many suffered because they did not care enough about the Lord or people to pray and reach out to help them. Many are suffering because Christians are selfish and refuse to do the work of the ministry. I personally know a saint that has given away nearly all of his fortune to the poor because he had a passion and burden to follow God’s voice. But what could I do? I do not want to get off track, but it is amazing at how much opportunity there is in every community to make a huge difference in people’s lives. The first thing we must do is become serious about our spiritual life. If we are satisfied with going to heaven then we are not going to be of any use to the Lord in this life. If we pray for a burning desire to love others, take our cross and follow Jesus, He will help us get into position to be used. If we choose to get involved with frontline ministry, do not just do the surface works and walk away, but rather pray fervently that you might be able to discern why you are there. God is in the delivering business more than He is concerned about us bringing someone a get-well card. Yes, there are people suffering in the hospitals and nursing homes because of sin and God has a beautiful plan to use us to help others find the problem and receive forgiveness. In the cases of God’s children where deterioration from old age is the problem, we can bring comfort and encouragement and for the ones who need to be saved we can be sensitive to bring the gospel and lead them into God’s mercy and grace. The question remains; who will go? Jesus is the forgiver of sin and the healer of the body, but in order for us to be His hands and feet we must be willing to forsake our will and learn the true meaning of love.

46. So if we discern that someone is suffering from a sickness because God is punishing them for being disobedient, can we just walk into their room and begin praying for them to be healed? This is a good question and one that is very seldom talked about. I think one reason it is not discussed is because there is very little praying for the sick at all. The concept of walking in the Spirit is to be understood that God is in control and has a perfect detailed plan for everyone. It only makes sense that all of God’s people need to be on the same page with Him which is a focus of being in one accord. We talk about unity all the time but the point of the saints standing together is that all of us are seeing HIS vision and listening to HIS voice. The idea has nothing to do with all of us agreeing about what we think but rather what He desires. I confess that I have been guilty of mindlessly praying for anyone and anything just because I thought it was a noble gesture. However, if we really sit and meditate on the big picture of prayer we can clearly see that we are NOT to just pray for what we want accomplished and this includes whatever seems to be a great idea for others. If anybody knew how to pray, it was Jesus. He knew how God thinks because Heis God: “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). Jesus demonstrated a pattern throughout His prayer life that all of us can and should copy. When obedience to Him becomes our highest priority, we will begin to realize what Jesus was talking about when He emphasized about bringing his desires in line with his Father’s desires. When we reach the place where we can HEAR God’s will instead of our own opinions, we have reached the turning point in our relationship with Him and this is the key to knowing how to pray when we walk into situations like an intensive care unit. We know that God is involved with people’s lives and wherever they are in the miracle process, it is crucial that we at least know enough about what is going on to NOT get in the way. Accepting God’s will over our own is difficult especially when we are not convinced it is the right thing. Our emotions try to pull us and persuade us to see life through the physical realm and this can be very deceiving and confusing. Remember that repentance will break the chains of sin and open the doors to deliverance and healing, so pray for wisdom and do not be anxious to jump into the middle of a situation. Divine appointments are awesome as long as we remember that He knows exactly when, where and how He wants everything to happen.

101 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 22

43. You speak a lot about the divine blueprint that God has drawn for us, do you believe He ever changes His mind and makes alterations within our journey? This is a good question. We must approach this with an understanding that God knows everyone’s future – even the tiniest details. When God designs our specific blueprint, He already knows what will happen. Some might say it sounds crazy to create a blueprint for someone that will never build the intended structure but is this any more odd than paying for a redemption that will never be accepted? Theology may seem simple to the masses but it is rather complex because views are connected with doctrines and these “camps” usually determine how a person believes. When we study for example the 2 camps of Calvinism and the Armenians we are amazed at how deep the roots are to the philosophy of religion and at the same time how many people use mixtures and variations of doctrines to construct their own worldviews. I have no intention of going into this massive subject and to be honest I’m not sure anyone can fully grasp the complexity of redemption so for this time I choose to stay as simple as possible.

I do believe that God draws a blueprint for every person with the intention of them becoming all that God has called them to be. Even for the individuals which will never choose Christ as their Lord, this does not mean that God cannot use them within the context of His overall plan. It is true that He desires for all to be saved and to submit to His Lordship but He knows this is NOT going to happen. Within His foreknowledge we must settle the issue of chance by saying that He does not predestinate anyone to hell by not allowing them the opportunity to respond. We also can include in His omniscience that no one will mysteriously be saved or will “surprise” Him by being convicted and surrendering their will to Him. All the names of the saved are already written in the Lambs book of life. Many will ask, so why will so many people die and be lost? Just because someone lives their entire life without accepting Jesus, does not mean they did not have a chance. God gives all who hear the gospel the chance to be saved but knows before they are born whether or not they will receive Him by faith. So what does all of this have to do with the question? Well, we are trying to reveal that if there were any “changes” in life, God would have already known about it thus, He would not need to modify the original plan. On the other hand, the sovereignty of God allows Him the authority of stepping in at times and intervening as a compassionate Father. So we see both the rigid characteristic of a legalistic God along with the flexible love of a grace filled God and each is perfect and complete. Prayer is a perfect example that if NOT applied to certain situations, we would surely face negative consequences. In this light, we can say that God’s power can change either along with our faith or not what definitely would have happened without Him.

This conversation reminds me of Deism that believes that God is not directly involved in the world. Deism pictures God as the great “clockmaker” who created the clock, wound it up, and let it go and just observes from a distance. A deist believes that a higher power or a God exists and created the world, but does not believe in the inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, miracles, or any supernatural act of redemption or salvation. Deism pictures God as uncaring and uninvolved and is a complete distortion of what God’s Word reveals the true Lord of glory to be. Thomas Jefferson was a famous deist, referring often in his writings to “Providence” but this is a sad and lonely philosophy of a “personal” relationship with God to say the least. I am grateful that God listens and responds to the poor widows, the abused, the homeless beggars, and the forgotten ones in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons. “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the East, the man executes my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11) We are reminded of a unique story found in II Kings chapter 20 and the first 6 verses about a man named Hezekiah that had already been told by the Lord that his time on earth was finished. Hezekiah prays and the Lord grants him another 15 years to live. This is not a parable but a real event that allows us to see that it is NOT impossible for Him to change people’s destiny and make alterations within our journey.

44. Do you believe that God ever regrets some of the things He has given to us and or allowed us to have? Another interesting question. I believe there are some things that God will not allow us to have and other things that even though He knows they are not good for us, He permits us to go ahead and do it. For example, He may allow us to make a lot of money only to watch us be foolish with it and even cause damage to ourselves and others. I am sure you can think back on some situations in your life where you wish He had stopped you. With the Lord being interactive within everyone’s life, the principal of free-will is very real and also very powerful. We can go out of our way and even overcome many obstacles while trying to do a good deed because we are convicted by the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s will. On the other hand, we can receive warnings from the Lord to avoid certain temptations and yet we still choose to go through with it. It must be difficult for our heavenly Father to watch us make terrible mistakes that have drastic consequences to our lives and I am sure there are times when He does literally stop us from proceeding. These are blessings that go unnoticed because we are so upset that we did not get to do what we intended. On other occasions, He is like the dad that gives their child the keys to the family car because he realizes they need the opportunity to learn. We have said before that God’s blueprint and our blueprint does not always match, in fact I would say that it hardly ever does, however the Lord steps in and out as He sees fit. We cannot always control our children and likewise God chooses to not control or force us to do His will. Many times even our blessings become distorted and create problems because of our rebellious sinful nature. We remember that God at one point in history actually regretted that He had even created mankind, so even though He knows what we will do this does not mean He is not frequently disappointed.

101 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT HEALTH AND WEALTH

PART 21

41. Is it ever God’s will NOT to heal someone? Ah, the question the masses are curious about and many teachers try to avoid. This is not a perfect world. It is a world that fell from perfection and became cursed. In this realm of sin and impurity there are many failures and disappointments associated with DNA breakdowns and faulty immune systems. I know that God is involved with trying to encourage and guide people into His Word and there are many people who are in the “process” of being healed. It is difficult for me say there are certain people that God does NOT desire to heal. I use the life of Jesus and His ministry as the greatest example of God’s will concerning healing. God loves you very much along with everyone else on the planet. And because He loves us, He wants the best for our life which includes everything good. Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life, died, and rose again in order that whosoever would trust His Word would be included into the family of God. His sacrifice provided the way for us to find and experience the salvation, filling of His Spirit, authority, healing and restoration we need to live for Him. Just because someone is sick and crying out to God and do not seem to be getting better does not mean that it is God’s will they remain sick. Even if someone passes away and did not receive their healing, this does not necessarily mean it was God’s will. Even Romans 8:28 is NOT saying that God causes every problem or situation but rather He works everything out for good on everyone’s part. If a martyr is burned at the stake, they are losing their life to gain God’s blessing while being used for God’s glory to convict the hearts of many and in turn can bring souls to salvation. He could rescue them from being tortured but uses their sacrifice the same way He used Jesus to bring others into the Kingdom.

I believe in certain situations God can choose not to heal if it is a necessary part of His overall plan. The Lord has promised that He would be with us but He never said the way would be easy. If God has raised us up and called us to pioneer a ministry, this does not mean it will be a beautiful path or a soft smooth journey. In fact, we may need to understand that we might lose all that we have including our life. I read a story the other day about a man named Allen Francis Gardiner, an officer in the British Royal Navy during the mid-nineteenth century whose voyages burdened his heart for missions. He would travel to different countries and see the native cultures and grew stronger in his passion to reach out to the lost. He finally answered the Spirits call and established an organization called the Patagonian Missionary Society to reach the remote tribes of South America. He wrote in his journal, “While God gives me strength, failure will not daunt me.” He was faced with much opposition and failed each time he tried to accomplish his mission. On his last attempt, he recruited 6 co-workers to go with him but all seven men eventually died on Picton Island. Gardiner, the last to die, dated his final journal entry, “Good and marvelous are the loving kindness of my gracious God unto me. He has preserved me hitherto and for four days, although without bodily food, without any feelings of hunger or thirst.” Captain Gardiner died without seeing a single soul saved among those he was trying to reach, but his efforts were NOT in vain. The story about his burden for the lost and how he died attempting to preach the gospel of Christ touched the hearts of his fellow countrymen and the missionary organization that he started became known as South American Missionary Society that has been sending missionaries and saving souls even to this day. The torch that he lit was picked up by those who shared his vision and this opened the door to countless conversions. It does not matter whether He missed God somewhere in the mix, and we are not sure that God chose NOT to save him from death, we just know that God used his sacrifice as a way for all things to work together for the good. The Captain was doing what he felt in his heart and could not see or understand why things were turning out this way BUT the Lord was comforting him then and I am sure when he walked into heaven that nothing was wasted – nothing was in vain.

42. There are so many books out about healing and how to gain wealth, who should I listen to? There is nothing wrong with reading, researching and listening because we can always gain more wisdom and understanding. However, at the end of the day we must filter all that we see and hear through the Holy Spirit and ask Jesus to help us discern truth from error. God has a plan (blueprint) for your life, and abundant life is a part of it. John 10:10 says that Jesus came to give us abundant life, and this includes us being healthy and whole – physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. We call this TOTAL SALVATION and it is the FULL-GOSPEL.

Truth and faith are crucial because we need to know what to put our faith in. It is like two compounds that when mixed together react to make something much more powerful. If we have truth but no faith it is of little value, likewise trusting in something that is not correct can have disappointing consequences. When it comes to healing, we are always reminded of how important it is to believe but faith is much more difficult than it seems. It would be easier if we could figure out how to obtain more faith but the truth is you cannot purchase it, borrow it or even catch it like you can a disease. For that matter, you cannot “catch” health and healing either. For example, if you’re around somebody who has a cold, you don’t have to do anything to catch it. You can become infected by just by being around them because that’s the nature of sickness and disease. But you can be around a healthy person and you won’t catch their faith or their good health. Why not?  Because faith and healing come from the divine reality and sickness comes from the default world. We have to embrace faith and choose to be healed or the default system will rule over us and conquer us.

One of the ways we can choose life is through prayer and by speaking His truth over our lives. You can speak these scriptures and confessions over your life to strengthen your faith in God for the healing and wholeness you need. “God wants to make us whole. He doesn’t want us to spend the rest of our life hurting.” Think about it like this: If I have a headache, I take an aspirin to get relief from it. I have to swallow the pill for it to work. If I put it on top of my head, it won’t do anything for me. God’s Word is medicine for our spirit, soul and body, and the way we experience its power is by speaking it out loud, praying it to God, meditating on it, and believing it. When you speak His Word over your life, it releases that power into your life. The other books and other people’s thoughts can only inspire us to keep reaching out to God. It is not enough to know that God CAN heal – we must know that He WILL heal us! He’s asking you and I to believe what His Word says more than what we think or how we feel. Keep speaking His Word over your circumstances and in His timing, He will complete the good work that He has started! Keep applying the Medicine of God’s Word and depending on your situation, one or more of these scriptures or confessions may apply to a need you are facing right now. Take time to read them, meditate on them, pray them, or write them down on a note card and carry them with you so you have them on hand wherever you are, whenever you need them.

Speaking God’s Word is one of the most powerful things we can do each morning. Positive confessions are also wonderful to help bring out mind and heart together into an optimistic outlook using our mouth to speak forth the visions of God’s will. When we speak God’s Word out loud over us, His power is RELEASED to bring miracles and illumination as we are also giving these Words of life a stronger opportunity to become REVELATION wisdom to us.

Psalm 30:2 “O Lord my God, I cried to You and You have healed me.”

 Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy]. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.”

 Psalm 107:20 “He sends forth His Word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction.”

 Isaiah 58:8 “Then shall your light break forth like the morning, and your healing [your restoration and the power of a new life] shall spring forth speedily; your righteousness (your rightness, your justice, and your right relationship with God) shall go before you [conducting you to peace and prosperity], and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”

 Psalm 34:15, 17 “The eyes of the Lord are toward the [uncompromisingly] righteous and His ears are open to their cry. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their distress and troubles.”

 Psalm 46:1

“God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble.”

 John 10:10

“The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came that you might have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].”