Last week we had an interesting topic on healing and how God heals, and why sometimes people don’t get healed. This is an opportune time, since we are heading into the Healing Encounter Conference this week from Ps Bernard Blessing.

Sickness and disease came as a result of man’s fall. When God created everything, all was good. Everything was free from diseases/sickness…but from the fall, these things entered the world.

We can say when sin entered the world, it caused sickness; but as we will see later, some sickness isn’t the direct result of personal sin (John 9), but is there simply for the glory of God when he is healed. Why is there sickness and disease among us? Why doesn’t God heal all diseases immediately? It’s really a subset of the larger question I get from my colleagues: if your God is real, why is there suffering in this world?

Of course, there’s this law of nature. If I continue to eat seafood and bak kut teh every single day, and rebel against the common sense that God has given me, it is simply self abuse.  I expect my body to break down and get clogged up as well. I might as well take an electric baton and stuff it at my neck. Is God going to spare me from a deserved shock?

Taking care of our health is a prerogative of everyone.  Can God do the supernatural and still heal you? He’s God. We can’t ask a question with the word CAN with God. It’s ridiculous. It’s like asking, can oxygen be used by our body?
He CAN! But why? So we can continue to indulge in worldly pleasures and not learn anything? ‘Sickness’ covers any infirmities we may have, a flu you get because you played golf in a thunderstorm, or a tummy ache from eating 20 durians. Like death on earth, disease is still prevalent, hence as Christians we are to discern and accept medical help for common ailments, like what Paul prescribed to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23).  Trophimus was sick (2 Tim 4:20) as Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:27). Maybe they played golf in the rain? God has provided a lot of natural remedies to our sickness, so use it! There’s nothing wrong with being a doctor =)

What I’m saying is, there are certain things that doesn’t change, natural laws; you put your head into fire, you get fried, simple as that. Or the law of aging. When 80 years old you reach, look as good you will not. The stuff we eat, the air we breathe slowly breaks down our bodies, and that’s the natural process of aging.

Can God heal you from all infirmities? Yes! He can even raise you from the dead, the greatest disease, if He’s not finished with you. But most of the time (thank God), He allows Christians to rest in peace, simply because our purpose in this world is over. 2 Kings 13:14 says that Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died.  It was time to check out. Or in the voice of the Farmer in Babe: “That will do, Pig. That will do.”

Healing and Medicine

I think everyone knows that as Christians, we’re not simply depending on God’s miracles to heal and reject all forms of medical assistance, or not take into account financing like health/life insurance and such. Does it mean we are of little faith? No! But it does mean we are of common sense, and will use the medical assistance or natural remedies that God provides. If you have an exposed wound, for goodness sakes, patch it up instead of walking around and telling God to disinfect in in the name of Jesus. Ezekiel 47:12 talks about practical herbs for healing. Does it mean we can’t buy any health insurance since we have faith God will heal all diseases of everyone at any point of time?

Divine Healing

Now comes the main bit. There are sickness that God can and will heal, even immediately. There is no limitation to what God can do. You can put your farm into that statement. Everything natural, everything supernatural, God is able, because ALL things are possible with God.

God will destroy the works of the evil one and bring glory back to Himself. And hence healing is such an important part of our beliefs. As believers, the gift has been granted. All sickness and disease that represents darkness, that is there to oppress and to destroy the abundant life we are called to live, are already broken.

A person struggling from a chronic disease can be assured that the disease is smashed to millions of pieces and glory will be given to Him. Dead cells are regenerated. Bones are clicked back in place. I’ve witness occasions that makes me a firm believer, GOD is a HEALER.

Many of us sometimes ask, what caused the sickeness? In John 9, the same question was asked: Why is this guy lame? We often ask it. Why am I sick? Am I being punished?

Jesus doesn’t really address the question, because they were asking the wrong question. Enough of focusing on the problem! He says, see what’s gonna happen, it’s gonna blow your mind! It wasn’t about how the person got sick, it was about how God can be glorified in that situation. Healing isn’t an end to itself, it brings glory to God. Sickness doesn’t glorify God, but overcoming that disease gives glory to God. Conquering the darkness, the oppression; delivering people from infirmities, all brings back the glory to God.

You see, we could be asking the wrong question here. All things, events and even miracles MUST glorify God. There’s no compromising that.  Again John 11:4, Jesus speaks about Lazarus’ illness.

“ When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.””

Again, we need to approach it and recognize that it’s not the sickness that glorifies God, but  rather, the event that happens (resurrection in this case).

Why are so many Christians sick?

Here’s the tough bit. As Christians, healing is already provided in the atonement. That’s important to understand. It’s something that God has instilled in us when we become his child. It’s no longer something unreachable, but as something attained. Hence, healing from the creator is evident in a believer’s life.

Why then do committed Christians still suffer, why are they still sick, or dying of disease? I remember praying for a friend of mine who had an accident, yet, he died and I asked the question, “God, why?” I’ve come to the conclusion that there are many things I don’t know about God and why things happen. I know that’s not a good answer, but I don’t have any, without making my own assumptions.

I’m not going to say that they have inner sins or lack faith or lack knowledge, because I simply don’t know. There might be some spiritual baggage, or unforgiveness, or something that needs to be healed spiritually before physical healing takes place. God makes it clear in 1 Thes 4:3 that God’s will is for us to be sanctified. But at the end, I’m not going to say I have an answer to everything. Jesus didn’t really answer all the things that the Pharisees or his disciples asked either, just the correct ones.

God has His own timing in all things. His ways are not our ways. Lazarus was sick, but Jesus delayed his coming, and he even died, but at the end, God was glorified. Is there instantaneous healing? Well, most of the healing in the New Testaments were instantaneous granted upon request, and definitely brought much Glory to God , and in turn believing in God (which we have agreed is the reason for healing).  There were other times that Jesus attended to other people first (Mark 5), as in Jairus case, when his daughter was sick and Jesus attended to the woman with blood disorder first, even though Jairus came first. Due to the delay, the daughter died; yet, Jesus rose her again.

Henry Blackaby in his book Experiencing God, talks about his child Carrie, struggling with cancer. They prayed for healing, but it took more treatments and testing and after a period of intensive prayer, the doctors declared that the cancer is miraculously gone. Blackaby notes that during the course of prayers, lives around him also changed. People increased their faith, student prayer groups found life, church prayer ministries revitalized. The healing didn’t happen immediately, it took time. They had to undergo trials and testing of faith. They might have asked, “God, if it’s your will to heal, why are we going through this?” or they could just focus that whatever the outcome and whatever time, they hold on to Romans 8:28 and know it will work for good. God is in control of all things. At the end, all glory was reflected back to God.

Can that 3 months become 3 years? I’ve known couples who went through years of praying and received miracle babies when medically they cannot have children. See how God will heal. But we mustn’t always think that healing is fast food, and every request is gratified instantaneously. God calls us to be patient in affliction, and bear our tribulations because from it, comes perseverance, and perseverance character and character, hope.

Healing Conference

So what do we expect in healing conference? First and foremost, YES, God has come and broken the power of darkness, i.e death and disease. Will he heal and break the powers of darkness and disease? Yes! I believe diseases and sickness will be healed, because God has brought Rev Bernard Blessing to GT at His appointed time to do His appointed work, and to put to shame the Devil and his shenanigans. Through the conference, God will heal, God will restore, God will provide and He will get all the glory for it. He’s God, and I believe miracles will happen, not because of anything we do, but because He is God.

From our side, like the lame man who was positioned through the roof to Jesus, we need to be in that position where we believe in faith that He will heal and transform lives and draw lives back to Him! We need to consecrate ourselves and come back to the Father, the source of life, and trust Him before we see the gifts of the God manifested in our lives.

I always believe in God’s sovereign will in all things. We have a God who is HUGE. He’s not a God to be manipulated by Human beings. He’s not obligated or forced to do what we ask and request. But we approach God with boldness and confidence, because we are his children and we have a God who loves us very much. And we have a God that works miracles far beyond what we can imagine or think! We just need to come to him in prayer, ask, and receive his response as a child. He will give us what is best for us, I trust that. We must always believe that if God puts us through a process, it’s for good, never for evil.

If you have a loved one who is ill, bring him/her. Like the centurion who believed in faith in proxy for his child, we stand and believe that our loved ones can be healed by God’s mercy and power. I believe God’s glory will be shown, and that’s why it’s going to be an exciting conference, because healing will take place, simply to reflect glory back to God.

Finally…

As I’ve said in cell, we can’t know everything that God intends. I don’t think that’s the general idea. We need to align ourselves with what God is doing, period, and not overspiritualise every single thing and He will lead us a day at a time. Divine Healing is about God, not the pastor, not the church, not the conference, no, not even the miracle. We need to remove our focus from man centered Christianity to God centered. We need to remove our obsessions with miracles and focus on the miracle worker. We need to stop running after blessings, but run to the blessor. We need to arm ourselves with the armour of light and understanding. We need to ground our faith on solid ground, that is the word of God; and be wise even when we hear the word of God. Yes, God has told us not to judge others. Yet, we are also called to be discerning and test all things.

For me, I will admit I don’t know everything that God intends for everyone. I believe God is compassionate and loving and called me to have a personal relationship with him. Whether hardships, weakness, sickness or dryness, I am called to look to Him and He will give me rest. As He heals us or through us as vessels, He gets all the glory. As He refreshes, He gets all the glory. I don’t think I am missing any blessing by having this thinking, because I am just the clay; I do not say to the potter, do this and do that.

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Is. 55:8). 

He shapes as He will and He uses us as He wills, and I trust Him that He will shape me the best way that He intends. Wealth, health, prosperity is in God’s standards and His will; abundant life is to His standards! There’s a beautiful song that we sing:

In His time, In His time.
He makes all things beautiful
In His time;
LORD please show me everyday,
As your teaching me your ways
That you’ll do just what you say
In your time.

Date: 29-30 August 2008
(with Rev Dr Bernard Blessing)

Thu 28-Aug: Healing Encounter (8pm) - Open
Fri 29-Aug: Conference (9am to 8pm) - For Pastors & Church Leaders
Sat 30-Aug (9am to 5pm) - For All Believers

REGISTRATION FORM, CLICK HERE!!

“Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out.” Numbers 9:21b  

Just visualize living with the uncertainty of these circumstances. At some point, you work at getting your “house” in order, simply to have to pick up the stakes and move. Your capability to plan is totally gone. But yet greater is the persuasion to move when the cloud did not move as you felt it was time to move. For the Israelites, maybe the grass was no longer green. Maybe the water was not easily reachable. Maybe the bugs were a predicament. No matter what the case, they were strictly prohibited from moving if the cloud did not move.

It is still the same in our day now. We are not to move unless the Holy Spirit instructs us to do so. We are not to make that contract on the basis whether or not it makes sense, but on the principal of the Holy Spirit’s “cloud” in our life. It is a complicated course of action to move only when we are directed, and to stay put if we are not. The pressure is constantly upon us to move, to plan, to take action. But if we take action, we might move into a place where the presence of God may not be. Hence, the rub. The Christian workplace believer must learn to move when God says move; it is a sign of complete surrender and faith on God’s spirit to direct our steps. 

So, ask God today if you are sitting under His cloud. Or, have you moved when He said stand still? He will show you. 

In his heart a man plans his course, but The Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9 ~ 

Last Year, Rev Dr Bernard Blessing came and we had a fantastic movement of the spirit in our Conference. He’s back again this year for the following sessions:
Thursday Night 28 August 2008 - Healing Encounter. This is OPEN to all!

Friday Day 29 August 2008 - Pastors & Leaders (Cell Leaders, Assistant Cell Leaders, Ministry Leaders, Cell Interns)

Friday Night 29 August 2008 - Healing Encounter. OPEN to all!
Saturday Whole Day - OPEN TO ALL!

Sunday Morning - OPEN TO ALL!

More Details:
Date: 29-30 August 2008
(with Rev Dr Bernard Blessing)

Thu 28-Aug: Healing Encounter (8pm) - Open
Fri 29-Aug: Conference (9am to 8pm) - For Pastors & Church Leaders
Sat 30-Aug (9am to 5pm) - For All Believers

REGISTRATION FORM, CLICK HERE!!

Venue:

Glad Tidings Assembly of God
6 Jalan Bersatu 13/4
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia
www.gtpj.com

Click on Map to Enlarge

I was preparing for the word last week and came upon Charles Spurgeon’s text on Peter’s Restoration here. He talks about the dark time when Peter, the leader of the 12, fell and failed his master. In other words, he lost the plot. He dropped the ball. He backslid.

We all know the story. He followed John after Jesus was arrested in Gethsamane, to the courtyard where Jesus was led. Then Jesus was led up to judge in the upper room, but it was sort of like a balcony, where you could look down into the open courtyard where the others were. Now Peter was let in by John, who knew the priests there, but he didn’t hang around John much, but just sort of shifted from fire to fire to warm himself.

Suddenly, a maid identified him as a disciple. He denied it. Later two more people said the same thing and this time he denied it even more vehemently, through curses and oaths (Mark 14:71).

Then the rooster crowed.

But a strange incident is recorded in Luke 22:60-62:

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly. 

This is only recorded in Luke, that the Lord looked straight at Peter.Perhaps God inspired Luke to write more of the compassion and love of Christ even when rejected by his dearest friends. Luke’s gospel is filled with healing (himself being a physician) and compassion of Jesus. The ‘look’ Jesus gave was in contrast of the look of the servant girl in verse 56. Hers was accusatory, his was compassionate.

But to be noted, was that even as the cock crowed, there was little reaction from Peter, until the Saviour looked at him, and then he repented. Spurgeon notes:

It (Peter’s Restoration) was brought about by two outward means. I like to think of the singular combination: the crowing of the rooster, and a look from the Lord. When I come to preach to you, it almost makes me smile to think that God should save a soul through me. I may find a fit image of myself in the poor rooster. Mine is poor crowing. But as the Master’s look went with the rooster’s crowing, so, I trust, it will go with my feeble preaching. The next time you also go out to try and win a soul for Jesus, say to yourself, “I cannot do it: I cannot melt a hard, rebellious heart; but yet the Lord may use me; and if there come a happy conjunction of my feeble words with my Lord’s potent look, then the heart will dissolve in streams of repentance.” Crow away, poor bird: if Jesus looks whilst thou art crowing, thou wilt not crow in vain, but Peter’s heart will break. The two things are joined together, and let no man put them asunder—the commonplace instrumentality and the divine Worker. Christ has all the glory, and all the more glory because he works by humble means.

In other words, even as we pray for our oikos, our 2 fishes and minister, do not be discouraged, if at times there’s no headway. We’re like the rooster crowing, but we need to recognise it is the look of God that has the power, the compassion of Jesus shown in our lives. We need to depend on God to turn their hearts and eyes, and it’s our job to keep sowing and watering!

Keep Crowing!

Speaking about love, here’s an excerpt I find kinda profound in George Verwer’s The Revolution of Love:

This is how we know God loves us. This is how we know the love of God, the way we perceive it, the way we understand it. He laid down his life for us. He died for us; he did something. He did not sit up in glory and sing, “My earthlings, I love you, I know you are mine.” and yet often we are not in speaking terms with the man in the seat beside us. Anyone who can sing that without going out from that meeting to show love in his life has passed through a religious pantomime that is an insult to Almighty God.

Below is an interesting parable that talks about not giving a toehold to the evil spirit, a.k.a. devil.

A certain man wanted to sell his house for two thousand dollars. Another man wanted to buy it very badly, but he was a poor man and did not have the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house to the man for one thousand dollars. But the reduced price came with a stipulation. The owner would sell the house, but he would keep ownership of a large nail protruding from over the front door.

Several years later, the original owner decided he wanted to buy the house back. Understandably, the new owner was unwilling to sell. As a result, the original owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog in the street, and hung it from the nail he still owned. Soon, the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the owner of the nail, i.e. the original owner.

Ok, so what have we learned from the above parable, one may wonder. Well, if we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotten garbage on it. Ah hmm, here, we may own the entire home, but if we were to give the devil access to just one nail in our life, it would without doubt puts us in the high-risk bracket. Agree?

Well, no doubt we all live in today’s society that glorifies individuality. We stipulate our rights ahead of our responsibilities; service rather than serving; indulgence above sacrifice. Yeap, a society that glorifies the wholly trinity: Me, myself, and I. Christ is a reminder for us to start gaining perspective by diverting the focus from ourselves to God and His perfect love for us.

The birth of Christ is the epitome of love so perfect – so humble that He arrived at a manger; so expressive that He chose to walk amongst us sinners; so graceful that He is able to touch our hearts; so sacrificial that He died a criminal’s death to redeem all of us into the Kingdom of God; so merciful that He will write-off our sins if only we choose to believe. Well, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour is indeed God’s best gift to mankind. After all, we are all saved for good works, and not by good works. There is nothing more than we could do to make God love us more. Yeap, there is nothing so lacking in us all that is out of God’s gracious reach (and Amen to that!)

Hebrew 7:25, “Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Ephesians 2: 8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Continuing where was left off, from the Cell Conference last week.
Pastor Mohan mentioned that if we didn’t serve in any ministry, or do anything, or do not actively do the will of the Father and serve, then we’re a bunch of hopeless Christians. In fact, at one point, he surmises No Cell, Go Hell, or something to that effect. Of course, such forceful message might not sit well with some members, but Pastor Mohan’s message, when you strip away the forceful presentation of it, is after all, truth. He is consistent with the message in James 2:24:

“You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.”

This is a fairly difficult passage if you read it without context. What’s the context? It’s found in 2:14:

“What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”

Let’s be clear here.

We are saved by Grace. It’s unconditional. If it were up to our works and ministry, then that is conditional salvation: i.e we need to make sure we always keep doing good stuff to atain it, and to keep it. There’s not much difference from Karma or whatever.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.” - Eph 2:8-9

At the same time, James is simply saying, look, you say you are saved. Are you sure? You’re still lying. You’re still sleeping around. You’re still fornicating. OK, maybe you’ve stopped those, but you’re still the same selfish guy you were, a greedy manipulator, a conniving schemer, not exhibiting the fruits of the spirit…

James! Why so serious?!

See, we need to understand James. He’s the brother of Jesus, so he’s all out to protect the truth. He’s probably increasingly annoyned by people who claims the gospel of grace and says, “Hallelujah, I am saved! I claim it! I claim the wealth! I claim the health! I claim the good stuff, I claim the blessings, I claim the wonderful gift, AMEN! What, you want me to help the poor? You want me to minister to the saints? You want me to come for prayer? You want me to evangelise? Hallelujah, thank God I am saved by GRACE! Those are works, brother! Those are stuff that you don’t need to do, because God saves us by Grace. We’re free from the law! We’re free from the commandments! We’re free to pursue our dreams and not be tied down by the shackles of church ministry and service. HALLELJUAH!”

At this point, James takes out a pair of nunchakus and proceed to pummel some sense into that Hallelujah guy.

That’s the context. James was just defending the truth. And what does Jude, his brother, write about? About the defence of truth. In Jude 4

For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.

I like James and Jude, because these guys were very much in the same mould as Pastor Mohan. They understood the urgency of the Truth war, and the fact that many people are undermining it and leading people astray with unsound doctrines. It wasn’t James’ idea that faith without works is dead, it was Jesus’s.

Matthew 7:16-19

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 

Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

 Luke 9:23

Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me

So are James and Paul not seeing eye to eye? No, because Paul supports the fact that freedom and salvation should naturally be accompanied by works and change:

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love - Gal 5:13

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! - 2 Cor 5:17

When we are saved by grace, we received something we didn’t deserve. We can’t ‘pay’ it back with ministry or works. There’s no payback in God’s ledger. There’s no brownie points if you served 6 weeks in a row as a worship leader. Your pastor, your cell leader, your spiritual parent all received the grace and there’s not one iota of works we can do to say we’re better than you or you or you.

The question here isn’t whether how we are saved, but how saved are we? If our salvation is not accompanied by an outward change, or exhibition of the fruit of the spirit, or some kind of desire and wish to serve God (hence serving his people), we really need to sit down and ask ourselves, am I professing Christ only? Am I truly saved?