Refuse to Get Offended

Our culture lets a lot of things slide. Culture tells us, “Hey, premarital sex is ok.” Or, “It’s ok to do drugs.” The church tells you differently (at least, it should). The church preaches that premarital sex is wrong. That it defiles your body, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Same with drugs. However, one of the biggest things in the Bible, that the Church doesn’t deal with, as a whole, is the trap of offense.

Now, you may be thinking, “Oh, it’s not a big deal to get offended.” Or, “I had every right to tell that person off.” In the natural, you may be right. However, Jesus holds us to a higher standard. (So high that He said Hating someone is the same as murdering them) In Matthew 13:20-21, talking about the parable of the sower, He says, “20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and immediately with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” (KJV, emphasis mine) So, Jesus here is telling us that offense will rob us of God’s Word, and its ability to bear fruit. That is a very interesting idea. If we get offended, the Word dies on the inside of us, and is of no use to us. This is what Paul wrote about when he spoke on love in 1 Corinthians 13:5, 7, “[Love] is not provoked...7 [love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” So, Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is telling us that we are to love one another, with the God kind of love. This love does not get easily upset. “So, you mean to tell me that I can’t get upset when someone cuts me off on the highway?” You can, but, it’s not God’s way. He wants you to bless them, and just move on. There is nothing you can do to change it anyway, so, why even bother getting out of the will of God?

“But,” someone may say, “So-and-so did me wrong. I need to go tell people everything about it so they can empathize with me, and feel what I am feeling. They had no right to do what they did.” Well, that may be so. But what gives you the right to act in a manner not consistent with the love of God? You see, when you get out of love, you are robbing yourself of God’s best for your life, and when you do that, you are causing the Word to not bear fruit. In essence, you are creating a “crop failure” for the Word.

So, when life comes at you, and you are tempted to get offended, refuse it. Do not take the thought. Say what God says about the person. If you do not get offended, you keep the wall of God’s Blessing intact around you, so that it can protect you from harm. This Blessing wall is the wall that enables you to walk free from sickness, poverty, depression, lack, and anything that hinders you from achieving what God has set up for you.

So, refuse to be offended, even for an instant. Avoid this pitfall, and watch the breakthrough come!

Healing, Pt. 3

In this study of healing, we have seen a few things.

1. We have seen that God’s Word says that it is His will to heal.
2. We have seen that Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer, or our Physician, is one of God’s redemptive names.
3. We have seen that it wasn’t until later generations began to distort the Word of God that the Church believed it wasn’t always God’s will to heal.

I would like to conclude this series with one final teaching. I want to show you how to appropriate healing for yourself. Now, this may be stretching some people’s thinking, so, before I get stoned, please hear what I have to say. Healing is a very simple thing on our part. All we have to do, is find what God’s Word says about it, and Mark 11:23 and 24 tells us that we can have whatever we say. So, if we find God’s Word on the subject, and we keep that coming out of our mouth, instead of talking the problem, and saying that we are sick, like many Christians do, instead say what God’s Word says about us. 1 Peter 2:24 tells us that we were healed by the stripes that were on Jesus’ back. If we were healed by them (past tense) we are healed now (present tense). Healing was provided for the Jews under the Old Covenant, and the Bible tells us that we have a new covenant, established upon better promises! Hallelujah!

So, the Bible tells us that we are to be healed. James gives us one way to appropriate our healing. In James 5:15 it says, “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” God promises that if we pray in faith, (which doesn’t include attaching, “if it be thy will” to the end our prayer, because we have established that it is God’s will to heal us) we WILL be healed! Isn’t that good news? We get to appropriate our healing for ourselves, when we need it, by praying the prayer of faith!

In his great study Bible, Mr. Scofield looks at the Greek word for salvation, Sozo, and finds that in this word, all the redemptive acts are contained. What I mean by that is, when Jesus went to the cross to die for your salvation, not only did he save you from Hell, He also saved you from sickness, poverty and many other things. So, the same cross that bore your sins also bore your sickness!

We can see that God gave us this healing promise, but, what if we don’t see our results right away? You may say, “I tried that, I said it once, and it didn’t work, I’m still sick.” Well, that is because you didn’t stick with it, and the words you spoke undid the healing words you had said. Ephesians 6:13b-14 tells us, “having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth,” So, we are to keep standing. Brother Hagin said it this way, “If you are willing to stand forever, you won’t be standing very long.” So, make the quality decision, that, no matter the circumstances, you will believe God’s Word, and what He said. That means, when I feel sick, I won’t run around telling people that I feel sick, I go to the Word, and find my healing scriptures, and confess them. I pray the prayer of faith, and when I feel sick, I keep confessing. Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t go see a doctor. You use wisdom in that area. Remember, they are fighting the same thing we are. However, if they tell you that you have a certain disease, don’t walk around saying, “The doctor told me I have such and such disease.” You say, “I believe the report of the Lord over the report of the doctor. I am healed by Jesus’ stripes!” Keep confessing God’s Word, and watch your healing manifest!

If you need healing, pray this prayer. “Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you have promised us exceeding great and precious promises in your Word, and that healing is one of them. I thank you that it says in 1 Peter 2:24, ‘by His stripes I was healed.’ I thank you that I was healed by the stripes on Jesus back, and that you have given me this free gift. You are Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord my Healer, and I thank you for Healing me. In Jesus Name, Amen” Once you pray, don’t undo your prayer by talking sickness and disease, or by praying for it over and over again. Confess God’s Word, and thank Him for manifesting your healing.

Healing, Pt. 2

Continuing the thought of healing from my previous post, let us now look at the how the Church's view on healing has progressed throughout history. Jesus obviously believed in healing, because in Acts 10:38 Peter said, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil." Now, I'm gonna take a short side journey here. Peter said that Jesus did two things. Doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil. So, healing can't be bad, because otherwise Jesus would have been undoing the good that he did before. The second point I would like to make is that Peter tells us sickness is oppression of the devil. In fact, no where in the Bible will you find God making some one sick to teach them something.

Getting back on topic, we see that not only did Jesus believe in healing, His disciples did too. In Acts 3, Peter and John healed a man at the Gate called Beautiful. There are many healings spoken of throughout the book of Acts. in fact, part of Evangelism, if we are to follow the only example of an evangelist we see (that is Philip, in the book of Acts, the 8th chapter) you see miracles being performed in conjunction with the Gospel being preached, including healing. So, I feel it is safe to say that the early Church believed in healing very strongly. They didn’t inquire whether or not it was God’s will to heal them, they knew that it was His will. In fact, James, the head of the Jerusalem Church, tells us unequivocally that, “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” (James 5:15) So, where did we lose it?

I believe it was gradually a lost revelation. As men became more and more accustomed to Christianity, many became less passionate. Through cultural interaction, they learned that the Zen Buddhist monks believed that you had to suffer on this earth. For a while, when the church was being persecuted, that fine for them. But when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, people didn’t have anything to suffer for anymore. So, there was a combination of two things. One, they were forced to be “Christians” (and I use the term here very loosely, because if they had no free choice, are they really Christians?), and number two, because of the suffering they believe they had to have, they picked sickness as a thing to suffer under. Why sickness? First of all, because they were not all true Christians, many of them did not have faith that God could or would heal them. Second, because of a lack of faith, even though hands were laid on them, and they were anointed with oil, they were not healed, so they concluded that healing had been done away with.

I am relatively certain that Pope Gregory the 7th was the one who made many reforms to the church, (if I am wrong, and it was a different pope, please correct me), but regardless, a Pope made a bunch of reforms in the 11th Century (Again, I believe that is the date), and one them was in regards to the way the sacraments were handled. So, instead of that anointing with oil being for healing, as is the Biblical example, he changed it, because he saw that it wasn’t working. It became known as the sacrament of Extreme Unction, and is still currently used in preparation for death, to make sure one is ready to die.

In modern times, people have been getting blasted by many church circles for believing that it is God’s will to heal always. Why is that? I personally believe it is His will, as His word says it. The early church followed that belief as well, so, why do believers get attacked for believing it is God’s will to heal? I leave you with that question. Post your responses please, I am curious to see what you have to say, as I do not have an answer to this question.

Feel free to post your reactions, comments, issues, concerns, or questions below.

Healing, Pt. 1

Many times Christians miss it in a few big areas. One of them that I would like to address, (probably in several parts) is the area of healing. Now, don’t shut me off before you read what I have to say. Read it with an open mind, and let me know what you think.

To begin a study of healing effectively, I believe the first the question that needs to be addressed is the question, “Is it God’s will to heal me?” I say, “Yes, without a doubt.” Now, the Bible says let every word be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses, so, I will give a few scriptures to back up my point. The first, is 1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-BY WHOSE STRIPES YOU WERE HEALED” (NKJV, emphasis mine). The second, is James 5:15 “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” The third is Mark 16:17-18, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

One could also use Deuteronomy 28:61, which says that any sickness not written in the law is under the curse of the law. Galatians 3:13-14 says that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, so that the Blessing of Abraham (the first part of Deuteronomy 28) could come on the Gentiles, or non-Jews. Of course, there are many more references, but space prohibits me from getting into them at this moment.

Now, you may be asking, “What about the Old Testament, where it says, ‘God will cause these diseases to come upon you’” etc. The thing you need to remember is, when the Bible was being translated, Hebrew was a dead language. They did a remarkable job, but spoken Hebrew did not exist, except in a classroom, or in synagogues, much like Latin today. Now that Hebrew has come back into existence, and many scholars confirm this fact, that when they say, “God will cause...” in reference to sickness and disease, they used a causative verb as opposed to a passive verb. A better translation would be, “God will allow.” And the only reason it was allowed was due to disobedience, however, they had to exercise the authority given to them in their covenant.

The final point I would like to make is in reference to the names of God.
God reveals Himself in seven redemptive names in the Old Testament. Here they are. Again, let us not quibble over whether it is Jehovah, or Yahweh, or Adonai. Since we do not know the proper pronunciation, when I say Jehovah, know that I am referring to the Tetragrammaton, or the name of God.

Jehovah-Shammah The Lord is there.
Jehovah-Shalom The Lord our Peace.
Jehovah-Ra-ah. The Lord is my Shepherd.
Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord will provide.
Jehovah-Nissi. The Lord is our Banner/Victor/Captain.
Jehovah-Tsidkenu. The Lord our Righteousness.
Jehovah-Rapha. I am the Lord that healeth thee. The Lord our Healer.

You ask any Christian, and they believe that God is Jehovah-Shammah, Jehovah-Shalom, Jehovah-Ra-ah, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Nissi, and Jehovah-Tsidkenu. He said He was all of these things in the Bible when He revealed His Name to mankind. How then can He not be Jehovah-Rapha??? Did He lose a part of Himself. For you to accept the first 6 names, you must also accept the 7th, because, if He is not Jehovah-Rapha, then it means one of two things. It means either, God is a liar, which His Word says He is not. Or, it means God changed, and His Word says He is the same, “Yesterday, today, and forever.” Therefore, if God is your shepherd, your peace, your righteousness, He is also your healer.

Looking at Jesus, one can never find a place where He told someone it was not God’s will for them to be healed. There was no sickness and disease in the Garden of Eden. There is no sickness and disease in Heaven. So, we can see that everywhere the Will of God is manifested, there is healing. So we see, God is the Healer (one translation reads "Our Physician") and He desires that we be healed. As Christians, there is healing available for us today. In the next few notes that I post, you will learn why the church stopped believing in healing, that it is for the Church today, and how to get your results on purpose.

Encouragement

When Paul and Silas were in jail, they refused to look at their circumstances. They didn't complain about their backs hurting. When they were in trouble and everything was against them, they began to praise God, and the chains fell off! They praised God and the circumstances changed!

You may be feeling depressed. Start praising God!
You may be in lack. Start praising God!
You may have sickness in your body. Start praising God!
No matter what circumstances come against you, Start praising GOD!

The circumstances will change, the chains will fall off, and God will fix everything. You will feel joy, no longer be in lack, you will be healed.

Now, we don't praise God for the circumstances, but we praise God for the answer. He has them all. When we praise God for His goodness, and thank Him for the answer, the way out of the mess that we are in. When we do this, the circumstances are required to change, because you spoke the very same words that God spoke, and Jesus showed us that speaking the words that God spoke changes circumstances. Every word Jesus spoke changed things, because He said that He only spoke what He heard His Father speak.

We speak the words God spoke in faith, believing that those words shall come to pass, and we praise God, and we change the circumstances around us.

So, when you feel depressed, Praise God, and say, "I have the joy of the Lord." Don't be moved if nothing changes right away. You keep holding fast to your confession, and do not change it. You do not confess depression, you confess the joy of the Lord. Continually confess God's word, always keep it coming out of your mouth, and watch the depression change. You can do this in every area of your life.

Put this into action. Praise God that His word is true. Glorify Him. God's word will not return void. His words are full of power. Speak His words, and change your circumstances.

Protection and the 91st Psalm

I was working a while ago, and meditating on the fact that our words shape our reality. In Proverbs 18:21, it says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof." So, we see that our words have power. In fact, God created the whole universe through His words, Hebrews 11:3, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." Proverbs 6:2 talks about the power of your words, "Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth." Our words are powerful, and Brother Hagin always used to say that "You can have what you say" I believe that with all my heart, and have seen it evidenced in my own life. I would like to take it one step farther and say that you WILL have what you say.

While I was meditating on this, I thought of the 91st Psalm. As soon as I got to the second verse, the Word of the Lord came to me. Here is what it says in verses one and two. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust."

Many times, we want to get all excited about dwelling in the secret place of the most High, but we do not know how to get there. That day, what God told me was ringing in my spirit for more than 3 hours! This is what He said, "How do you get in the secret place? You have to say, "LORD, You are my refuge, my fortress, you are my God, IN YOU I WILL TRUST!"

When situations arise, and trouble comes (and it will), you say to it, "No, it will not come near me!" Read the 91st Psalm, confess it over your life, and make the Lord your refuge by saying. Saying what you ask? Psalm 91:2. That is what you say. You confess it. Hebrews 3:1 says, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;" another translation renders the word profession as confession. Hebrews 4:14 (Amplified) says this, "Insamuch then as we have a great High Priest Who has [already] ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession [of faith in Him]." Hold fast your confession of faith in Him. Hallelujah!

When trouble arises, and it will, you hold fast to your confewsion of faith. The time to get in the Word and build yourself up is before the storms arise, but fear not, you can get in the Word and start building your faith up right now. Spend time with God. Read your Bible. Confess the 91st Psalm over your life. Get into that place of protection. Say of the Lord, "Lord, you are my refuge, you are my fortress! You are my God, the Lord of my life! In You I will trust!" Meditate on the Word, and let it not depart from you day or night. (Joshua 1:8) Stand strong on God's promise for you. Refuse to let Satan steal it from you. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His Might! Confess God's word over you and your family day and night! Refuse to let satan steal from you, by making the Lord your refuge!

Intro

So, before I get started, a few things about myself. My name is Dave. I am a pastor's son, and in a few years will be headed off to Rhema Bible Training Center to begin/continue my training to be a preacher myself. What kind of preacher? I am not sure. I believe it is a pastor, although God may tell me something completely different. In this blog, I will be sharing my thoughts about God, things He is showing me, and a little bit of preaching for you to enjoy (sometimes I can't help myself, I just start preaching). Anyways, enjoy reading, and remember that Jesus is Lord!