1 Timothy 5:23

 “Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.”

For some Timothy’s tummy troubles lead them to think that sometimes we should be using other modalities to address health concerns and that God’s approval is on these solutions.    I cannot speak for God.   However, what I will point out only briefly, is that this verse happened after Jesus’ ascension.

Only Jesus expressed God perfectly and even when He was on earth, there is a biblical example of him being unable to do miracles because of the unbelief of people.  It is important to note, that even in this environment He did heal some sick people by laying on of hands.  (See Mark 6:5-6)   There is also an example of when the disciples failed to heal the sick but Jesus succeeded. (Mark 9:14-29).   If Jesus had not been there, the boy would not have been healed.

Our understanding and obedience is imperfect.   I can only point to my last post and lay the blame where I believe that it lies…   Imperfect people can only express God incompletely or imperfectly.   But to one with faith, all things are possible.    I believe that if Timothy had had this tummy trouble while Jesus was on earth. that no one would have been recommending wine, that he would have been healed and the wine redundant.  This is my opinion only.  However, there isn’t one single biblical account that I know of where Jesus refused to heal the sick or failed to heal the sick and many that indicate He healed them all.

For me this verse about Timothy is actually very helpful in helping us to acknowledge the limitations of man versus the perfect expression of God through Christ.

Think again on John 14:12 and stand in awe that we are able to do all that Christ did and greater things…  The Bible says that we can, are we willing to press in and with and only in God’s help, wisdom, revelation and power, overcome every obstacle that hinders us?

Anyone else familiar with this verse..    God has set me straight as I had in my humanness added a little extra word that totally changed the meaning.   I thought that this meant that love overlooks, covers up, a multitude of sins. Here is the verse that brought me enlightenment. James 5:19-20

Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;²⁰ Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.“

When you dig a little more and consider Matthew 18:15-17:

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.¹⁶ But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.¹⁷ And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”

So it turns out God calls leading a brother or sister back into Truth, exposing the sin, is actually what is meant by this hiding/covering.  Amazing how different it can look when you here God’s description of what He means. How perfectly consistent with Provebs 3:12

For the Lordcorrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”

Your insights are always welcome:)

1 Corinthians 2

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.² For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.³ And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.⁴ And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:⁵ That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.⁶ Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:⁷ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:⁸ Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.⁹ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.¹⁰ But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.¹¹ For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.¹³ Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.¹⁴ But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.¹⁵ But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.¹⁶ For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.”

What an intensely powerful statement.  “We have the mind of Christ”.    I have been chewing on this, and am amazed at how profoundly simple and clarifying this statement is and yet how far reaching and unfathomable also.    In studying scriptures and doctrines and theologies, there is much room for debate.   But the mind of Christ… So much is revealed through the Word about the mind of Christ that it would be difficult to debate as His actions and own words tell us so very much.  Are we letting that which is spiritually accomplished already dominate our physical and soul level reality?   This is exactly what Jesus Christ did.

Matthew 16:23

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men..””

This is a very strong rebuke Jesus directed against His own disciple Peter when He suggested that Jesus should not endure the coming torture and death on the cross.

Let us look at the sick through the mind of Christ.    Was He hoping that they would be healed?   Considering what percentage of them would actually be touched by the power of  God? Or could He see them all already  healthy and healed? And when He prayed did He know that God had already answered His prayer? Was He praying for them to be healed through doctors and medicine or any other form  of healing outside of the direct power and provision of the Living God?  Heaven forbid, this doubt in God’s provision would have meant our Lord and Savior was a double-minded man… completely impossible as He was of course, and still is perfect.  Failure to do what God said He could do is an impossibility in the Mind of Christ.

John 11:41-44 (see te context)

“Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.⁴² And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.⁴³ And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.⁴⁴ And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”

Mark 9:23

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

The big question,

WHY AM I NOT HEALED YET?  WHY IS THE PERSON I HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR NOT HEALED YET?

I hate to shout but I know how emphatically this question can haunt us.

Perhaps to somewhat I am about to share might seem like an oversimplification.   Read the verse again above and you will have your answer.   “All things are possible to him that believeth”.  There are at least 3 things that keep us from believing God.

1.lack of knowledge, you can’t believe what you don’t know.  This can be fixed by reading the Bible attentively and praying for the Holy Spirit’s help in your ability to understand.

2. Error, some of us have had a lot of help with inaccurate or even outright wrong teaching.   This can create a blindness to see the Truth.  With God’s help and humility , this can be undone.   We must be willing to look at the verses afresh, setting aside all of our former understanding while praying for God to reveal the error and the Truth.  John 9:38-40 is insightful to this issue.

3. Unbelief.  Never underestimate the nullifying effect of unbelief.   Mark 9:29 and  Matthew 17:21give us  insight into the solution.   Unbelief can be overcome with prayer and fasting.   Romans 10:17 also sheds light that faith comes from hearing….  We must diligently study and keep the Word of God in our minds and in front of our eyes until the revelation and understanding  are rooted in the very core of our being.  (Matthew 13:6, Colossians 2:7, Proverbs 4:20-22)

Mark 6:5-:6

And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.“

It is not that Jesus would not but could not.  Brothers and Sisters, if the Lord Jesus in person, with unlimited power, could not do miracles because  of the unbelief of people then,  why do we believe that this unbelief  doesn’t impact us now?

John 5:19

Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”

Not only are we to have the mind of Christ and think like Christ, but we are also told that all who believe will do as Christ did just as Jesus did what He saw His Father do.   Spiritually we are equipped to do all that He did.  Let us never believe any doubt,  fear or perspective  of man that would keep us from who we are called to be and what we are called to do and the fullness of eternal life.

John 14:12

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”

Brothers and Sisters, It is not in the mind of Christ that the sick aren’t healed, but when we in our humanness cannot see past our own human perspective to see the heart, will, power  and provision of our Loving and Faithful Father.   Praise you Papa that you are the Master of moving us past our own human limitations , and that you will finish the good work you have begun in our lives, In Jesus Christ name.

James 4:1-10 (See the full context)

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?² Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.⁴ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.⁵ Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.⁹ Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”

One anothering..   one of the key core elements of true fellowship in Christ….   What insights can be gleaned from these verses, simply packed with wisdom and power to overcome and live as God would have us live.    So much of the strife we see within the church is simply the result of a bunch of believers refusing to get spiritual and choosing instead to remain carnal minded…    This week it struck me that one of the repeating themes is the need to be humble….   Again and again, the Bible brings us back to this place, meekness and humility are essential for Kingdom life.

What does it mean to submit to God?   I think for starters, it means we must listen to, believe  and obey His Word without altering to accommodate our own understanding, viewpoint and life experiences.   We must submit to Him and His Word as the Authority above all others.  And when He has declared something, that we must abide by His command.

Sounds simple, but the reality is we like to complicate it, and we have lots of help in doing this.    We have well-meaning friends and thoughts in our own mind keeping us even from doing the first step, listening and really hearing what the Word states so simply.. I am reminded of the serpent in the garden sowing doubt and rebellion into the hearts of man “Did God really say…”    I have grown weary of any argument that starts with any variation of these words.  ” But we must consider the entire nature of God and can assume”…. Stop… We cannot assume anything.    “I know the Word says that but surely the Lord’s is big enough to understand how under these circumstances…”    The reality is God’s compassion, love and grace were all expressed by Jesus in ways that could be perceived as harsh and uncompassionate from our human perspective, and yet because it was Jesus who did and said these things, we know He did them perfectly, full of love, grace and mercy.   While we might not be struck dead as were Ananias and Sapphira, every choice we make when we choose worldy over Holy, self over God, curse over blessing, it costs the Kingdom.  It was a moment when that person, that circumstance, that tragedy, that fear, that whatever it was, could have had an encounter with the Living God.   God’s plan is big enough to handle our humanness, Praise Him for His great mercy, grace and provision, but let us never deceive ourselves into believing it costs nothing when we disobey.   Praise the Lord that we are to “forget the things that are behind” (Philippians 3:13) and press forward.  Confess, repent and press on, setting your hearts and your all on following Jesus.   Your next choice is now, your next opportunity to choose Kingdom is right in front of you.

Matthew 17:17 “Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.”  And this addressed to His own disciples.

What about those pesky symptoms, the cough that keeps rearing its ugly head, the headache, soreness, stiffness, weakness, whatever it feels like that whispers to you all day long, the Word of God cannot be true, see, i am here, i am established, you are sick…  these sensations,  and the mindsets and emotions like fear, doubt and worry that accompany them are little mini witnesses that are accusing God and calling Him a liar… persistently, relentlessly, repeatedly trying to convince you that they have power over the living God, that they were the victors in the great battle that was waged during the death and resurrection of Christ….   All of us are going to have to dig deep at some point and fully submit to God’s Word if we want to live in the centre of His plan for our lives.  Each of these situations is an awesome OPPORTUNITY…  Yes truly an opportunity, to “Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Jesus”.   It is a place that we all must pass through to enter into His rest, His Peace and the secret place of the Most High.   So why not take the next opportunity you get to go there.

“Taking every thought captive” means that no thought other than what is biblical and good and praise worthy (Philippians 4) gets airtime in your brain.  literally rebuke (with your mouth and verbally) any thought or symptom that tries.   “No, I refuse to think you, you are a lie and not from God, I choose…. “and then find a verse to use to combat that temptation, that lie that symptom.   As many times as that thought or symptom rears its ugly head, knock it out with the Word of God and praise.    God thought of every temptation you would ever face and has a promise in his Word somewhere that will strengthen you and equip you for victory over whatever it is you are facing.  It means zero tolerance for aches, and pains, sickness disease, any fruit of sin and evil that is trying to get established in your body.    Your faith will grow by leaps and bounds as you enter into God’s power and will and you see the mountains of your life defeated and overcome.

Matthew 12:25

“Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.”

Brothers and Sisters, let us cry out for full restoration, for “God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven”, let us never be satisfied without having come into an intimate relationship with our Lord, Abba, Father, without having received a full revelation of His love, let us never be satisfied so long as the enemy has even one single foothold left in our hearts, church or bodies.    Let us enter into to all that the Good Lord has planned for us, with praises and thanksgiving, power, healings, ,miracles, saved and redeemed lives, love unconditional abounding every place we go and rippling out in our wake.

 

 

 

 

 ^“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7

This verse has been in my head all month.  Interesting that it is the first half that the Lord has been talking to me about.   Most of us are great at resisting the devil… but the first bit is absolutely essential, and without it, we will never get the result promised.   We must submit our everything to God and believe Him utterly.  At the very end of this post I have included a more practical hands on example of how to see this victory established.

For example, if God has promised that He has done something and that we are to wait on Him to deliver it (Abraham, Sarah, Hagar and the birth of Ishmael are a perfect example) and we take it into our own hands to accomplish, are we submitted to God and His promise?  How often do our words, actions, choices reflect a rebellion against God’s Word and God instead of a submission?

In order to begin to make sense of all this we must consider the different voices, witnesses so to speak, that are contributing to our views and thoughts, and shaping the present state of our soul.

Let us look at the witness of the Word of God, what He says about who we are and are state of wellbeing. Here are some scriptures to consider regarding the state of our spirit , soul and body.   May the Holy Spirit bring to your thoughts other verses as you consider just this sampling that will hopefully serve as a springboard in to a more in-depth revelation of our true state of being.

Regarding the state of our spirit:

Colossians 1:20-22 (please see the whole context of Colossians 1) “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.   ²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:”

Ephesians 2:1-8 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 “²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

N.B.  the “Now” of this verse, this is not a later statement, this divine exchange happened when we believed and were baptized.  We are the righteousness of God right now.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Temple in this verse actually means Holy of Holies…   If you look up references in the Old Testament you will realized how few had access to this place, how much ritual was involved for man to enter and how precise the instructions were to be in there.. But now we are this marvelous residence, the abiding place of the Holy Spirt… AWESOME!!!

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

Colossians 1:12-16 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:¹⁵ Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:¹⁶ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

We are citizens of the Kingdom of God.

Regarding the state of our mind:

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”Proverbs 14:12

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” Proverbs 16:25

Our mind and reasoning can most definitely mislead us even into death.   I believe that this played a large part in the original sin.   Adam and Eve were encouraged by the serpent to consider/evaluate what God meant by what He said.   The story, as we know, ended with spiritual death and separation from God.   This little truth can be dressed up in so many ways.   “I have considered but what the Bible says but….”   “If you translate it just so and consider these verses over here and consider the nature of God overall…”   Brothers and sisters, ask yourself if you are approaching the Bible with the literal mindset of a child or if you are looking at it through established filters and expectations that are encouraging you to evaluate it instead of just taking it at face value.

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” See also 2 Peter 1:19-21

James 3:8-10 “But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.⁹ Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

Matthew 13:22 “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

Ephesians 4:22-24 “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;²³ And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;²⁴ And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Note the condition of this verse which is a lovely way to highlight the battle over the soul as long as we are still on the earth in our physical bodies…  Our soul is in a tug of war between the flesh, carnal self and the Spirit.   This promise is for those who choose the Spirit.  James 5:12 goes on to mention that we can in reality as born again believers fall into condemnation.

Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Our soul is the place where we ultimately must choose to be spiritually minded and to obey the Word of God continually, or to be carnally/fleshly minded and to satisfy the demands of the flesh and the world

Regarding the health of our physical bodies:

1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Psalm 91:7-12 (see the whole Psalm) ” A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.⁸ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.⁹ Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;¹⁰ There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.¹¹ For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.¹² They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone”

Luke 9:1-2 “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.² And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.”

Psalm 34:19-22  (KJV) “¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.²⁰ He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.  ²² The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.”

Isaiah 53:3-6 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Proverbs 4:20-22 “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.²¹ Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.²² For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”

1 Timothy 2:3-5 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;⁴ Who will have all men to be saved (sozo= made whole spirit, soul and body), and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”

Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

It is important to see that the decision of what we live and experience has been set before us.   In both the Old and the New Testament we see that we have 2 options before us… to be carnally minded which is death or to be spiritually minded which is life and peace..   The Lord, though He is sovereign has given us dominion over this choice and we are ultimately responsible for what we choose.   The fruit of our lives is the tell-tale evidence of how we are minded.   Notice how verse 11 reflects Proverbs 4:20-22… if we are spiritually minded our physical bodies will be quickened and full of health.  Friends, it is impossible to know and understand God’s Word and not walk in radiant health.   We must be humble and willing to take an honest account of the health of our

and thinking.

Romans 8:1-11 (see all of Romans 8 context)  “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.² For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.³ For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:⁴ That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.⁵ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.¹⁰ And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.¹¹ But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Again reflected in the Old Testament

Deuteronomy 30 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;¹⁶ In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.¹⁷ But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;¹⁸ I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:²⁰ That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

We must also consider the source of what we are fighting against.     We must never forget who our battle is with:

 Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Let us now consider a specific example and a specific promise of God. The healing of our physical bodies…

1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

 

How to be spiritually minded/submit to God/worship God in spirit and truth.  Some verses to consider:

 Romans 6:12-14 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  ¹³ Neither yield ye your members (body parts)as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members (body parts) as instruments of righteousness unto God. ¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Romans 10:2-4 “² For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.³ For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

James 4:6-8 “⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded

Deuteronomy 5:1 “Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, “Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn them and obey them!”

John 3:12 “But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things?”

 

An honest question to ask yourself, can you be truly single-minded, and say that you trust that God has healed you when in the back of your mind you are thinking “if this doesn’t work, then I will…”  For me that is the very definition of double minded.   While my own experience means virtually nothing, I can say when the only one I sought was God, radical miracles have happened, when I had the thought of maybe I should go to the doctors and I did not cast them down, I end up in the doctor’s office.    Doubt and unbelief that God will do what He has promised induces a state of mind that is detrimental to the prayer of the believer.

James 1  “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;³ Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.⁴ But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.⁵ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.⁶ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.⁷ For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.⁸ A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; ”

Philipians 4 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.⁹ Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

Matthew 21:21 “Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.”

Let us look at the reliability of all the witnesses involved.   First, we must decide if the Word is a true witness.   I believe that this is the only option for a believer and to cast doubt on the Word is call God a liar. My own conviction but also the perspective from which I am sharing.   If the Word is true, then every witness that would contradict the Word is a lying witness and their testimony must be dismissed.

How reliable is our flesh?

Things that science can tell us:  false labor, phantom pain in people with amputated arms and legs, hot flashes (produced entirely by chemicals within our body without any source of eternal heat), allergic reaction brought on by mention of allergens with no allergens present.  Through science we can attach a bunch of wires etc to a person’s brain and stimulate all sorts of interesting things like smelling burnt toast…   our bodies can and do lie to us.    If the Bible tells us a symptom is impossible, than we must believe the Word and must call the symptom what it is, a lie, and one of the Devil that must be resisted and cast out….

How reliable are people?

Romans 3:4 “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”

John 2:23-25 “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.²⁴ But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,²⁵ And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”

Also consider the fickle response of the crowd in Mark 10:46-49.   One minute they are trying to silence blind Bartimaeus, the next they are comforting him.   This is even more prominent in the final week before the resurrection when the crowd welcomed Jesus as Hosanna and later that week cried out for Him to be crucified.  Also consider how constantly your mind is bombarded with the thoughts and ideas of others. The media in all of its diverse forms, conversation with people, books, billboards, advice, the grumblings (oft disguised as requests for prayer) etc that we are exposed to daily.   These can be hidden in godly seeming formats, things like theology college, christian and public education, sermons, prayer meetings…

2 Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

 

How reliable is our own understanding?

Proverbs 3:5-6 “5Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.…”

Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Another hard question, are you really acknowledging God’s Word and promise if He says that He is going to do something for you but then you go out and try to make it happen for yourself.    This is the story of Abraham, Sarah and Ishmael…   God’s promise was always sure, but in their own understanding they rationalized out their own solution… Today we have the whole Islamic community as a result.  Don’t underestimate the impact of applying your own solution to a God promised provision.

 

Practical Application:   Great, I can sort of follow what you are saying but what does this look like when you are living it and breathing it and fighting for life and health.

For me there are 5 main parts:

1st “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Matthew 6:33

We must know in our hearts “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him..” (Hebrews 11:6) and that it is “the Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).   For me this is a simple prayer like “Daddy, I know that your love for me is beyond my wildest imagination, but I am blind and try as I might, I know I don’t know.   Praise you that have come to give sight to those who know they are blind.   Papa, I am struggling, reveal the fullness of your love for me, the reality of your Kingdom to me and all that you have accomplished in and through Jesus Christ that all this fear and doubt that I am struggling with will be utterly defeated.  I long to know you more intimately and to understand your will and your ways.  Thank you Papa, in Jesus Christ name”

2^nd establish by the study of the Word what is TRUE spiritually and according to the Word.   I have started this process for you above in describing what the spiritual reality of your spirit soul and body are according to God’s Word

3rd.  Take authority/dominion over your thoughts.    YES EVERY single thought.    If you have a thought that contradicts the Word, rebuke it verbally, I say something like “You vain and lying thought, a reject you in Jesus Christ name, you are a false witness and I refuse to acknowledge your testimony.  The Bible says …..”  Always give the Word and the true witness the final word for your own self.   It the thought is coming from another person, it is equally important to reject  words verbally, when necessary I will slip out of the room and reject the words and speak the truth   over myself.   If you are with an authority figure, for example a Doctor or a parent, you can honor them but still speak the truth in love”  Brother, I respect your view point, but I have to believe and act on the Word of God which tells me….”  When this battle is on in my life, I might be literally coming against these thoughts and opinions 100s of times a day, every 2-3 minutes at times….  Establishing victory over our thought life is essential to establishing the victory that Christ has established for every believer.   It is core to the sanctification of the mind and soul…  And it is a direct command of the Lord’s for us to do.

4th Take authority over/cast out/ speak to every mountain and every lying symptom that tries to establish a foothold for sickness in your body.   “You lying symptom of pain/soreness/stiffness/achiness /confusion/brain fog/ whatever affliction would come against your physical body. I reject you and command you to get out of my body and off my property.   By Jesus stripes I was healed, by His blood I am the righteousness of God, right now.”   Some other verses I often refer to. “Satan and all you things associated with him, you are publicly defeated, shamed and disarmed (Colossians 2:15), look again on your defeat, relive that day of terrible loss… Look at my Lord, see His wounds, see the utter ruin of your plan to infect me and afflict me with sickness, pain, weakness and infirmity… See His blood, look at it, stare at it, and know that I know what was accomplished by its spilling. He took all you intended for me into Himself and then took it to the cross. You are done, defeated, have lost all power and authority over me and my household.   You are trespassing on blood bought property now get off of my family and off of my property. I banish you permanently in Jesus Christ’s name” This quickens my own faith and reminds me to of what Christ has done and the precious price He paid for me to be free. I also want any attacker to leave our home seriously unmotivated to ever come back.   We never want to get bogged down here though… we want to quickly pull out the biggest sword of all…..

5th Praise God for what He is done, for what is true. Cover every tiny word of warfare or resistance with a mountain of Praise towards God and Jesus. Consider Psalm 149:6 “Let the praises of God be in their mouths, and a sharp sword in their hands—“ and Psalm 69:30“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.”

 

John 4:23-24

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.²⁴ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters,   What a sweet thing to be released to live only according to the testimony of the Living God….  I long for this and cry out for this with all my being.   This verse used to be one that caused me grief as for me worship felt like an act of utter hypocrisy as I tried to muster from within my carnal self and praise worthy of the King… I found my lips moving and my heart far removed, caught up in brief moments of true worship but mostly dissatisfied with my unworthy and defiled offering.    The Lord has been working in my heart about many things since then….

Oh the sweet revelation that I am the righteousness of God before the Lord thanks to the blood of Christ, that I am Holy and blameless without a single fault before the Creator of the universe even now….  This insight changed everything (Do check out Colossians 1:10-29 to see and read these precious words for yourselves).    It stirred a revelation I had not pondered on or followed through fully..   There is a very different reality that exists that is very real and that is very powerful.   That part of me, my spirit, is seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus right now, a part of my being that is experiencing and knowing God at a level, intimacy and perfection, right now.  Awesome… and it just keeps sinking in to greater and greater levels.

So what does worshipping God in spirit and in truth actually mean?   Praise God that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all understanding..   for the moment, here is my current take.

In spirit…  if we approach God based on the reality of what our spirit is living and experiencing right now…  perfection, wholeness, pure worship, holy and blameless, seated in heavenly places with Christ right now…   well, we are worshipping from an entirely different perspective than if I consider things from my soul and body perspective….  In fact, allowing our body and soul to have a vote on these things, will almost always lead us away from both the spirit and the truth.

In truth… there is only one Truth, and He is Christ and He reveals Himself to us through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.   The revelation of both of these things comes from studying, learning, hearing, understanding and believing what the Bible says.    It is the perfect and only means of knowing and entering into this place…

To sum up, I think worshipping Him in spirit and truth is to worship him according to reality of what He has already accomplished and exists already, right now, in heavenly places…   essentially what the spirit part of us is partaking in right now.   And, according to what the Bible reveals about how marvelous, perfect, awesome, loving, amazing (words cannot possible express well enough) the goodness of God.     What is happening at a soul and body level is still affected by the things of this world, but when we worship in spirit and truth, we are transcending the worldly and fleshly realities and entering to the very presence of God.

My next post about submit to God and resisting the Devil is a direct application of this in many ways…

Hello!  Andrew Murray is someone I have been blessed by mightily.  His book Divine Healing is one that I highly recommend and is available to view for free at http://whatsaiththescripture.com/Voice/Murray.Divine.Healing.html

God bless you all,

Lisa

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

-Luke 12:32

 

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night and not been able to fall back asleep.   When this happens now, I ask God what He wants to talk about and then I listen.   Last night, this is what I heard.

The Word of God does not constrain us, it frees us from all worldliness, including in our thoughts, actions and life that in fact keep us from perceiving and receiving the Kingdom of God.   In fact, the Word frees us so that we can live in joy, peace and rest.

As a mom, I long to lavish my love and affection on my children.   I have observed this interesting phenomenon though, the more they have the less they appreciate what they have.   I think humanly speaking, having much creates an entitlement and an appetite for much and in so many ways creates a people who cannot be satisfied.  So I started to think that having much might be the problem.  Then I realized in the desert, the Israelites had the opposite problem and had very little in the possessions department, although they had the greatest thing in the presence of the living God visibly.  Ours is an even greater provision in that we have the same Holy Spirit in us.  So in one case it is need and in the other case it is the “excess”, cares and pleasures of this world, that drown out our delight in God.

So here is what I got…   We, the human race, were created for the Lord’s pleasure, so that He could fellowship with us and lavish us, He is Love and needs to express this love for Him to be satisfied.   We are whom He made in all the universe to receive this astonishing blessing and honour.  We were made to be loved and lavished and to respond with delight, and thanksgiving and praise.

As a parent, there are few things in life more precious than those times when our children are truly delighted.  God is so wise in bringing us into this awesome gift of parenthood so that we can catch these glimpses of His own heart.

We must live in anticipation that the Lord Himself longs to delight us.  We are the object of His affections, He is not stingy, He is not limited.

We must guard our hearts diligently and not let expectation or entitlement or abundance ever steal our joy but live in ongoing delight as the Lord provides for us lavishly.  This is equally hard in times of great blessing as times of great need.  I think thankfulness (remaining grounded in gratitude) is at least one key all the time.  Understanding the faithfulness of the Lord and His inability to do anything but to keep every single one of His promises faithfully to whoever believes them.  Most importantly of all, understanding the pleasure God receives in loving His loved ones.

We can read God’s love letters to us, His gestures of affection and love when we stop and listen to the millions of soothing sounds (water gurgling, rain falling etc), when we watch in awe as all creation does what it does (I was wondering at the tulips which put on this big show of colour in early spring every year and then slowly die back to rejuvenate there bulbs so that they can burst forth again next year in all their beauty), from beautiful sunsets, to the expressions of pure joy in a loved ones face…  a word of encouragement, a timely call, a peace in impossible situations, a love for someone in the natural we could only hate…

I was thinking about how the Israelites grumbled in the desert when they had no food (none and none to be found without walking for days in the natural, surrounded by over a million others in the same plight).  There situation was utterly impossible, they were doomed to die slowly and painfully, watching those they loved go through that suffering as well.  BUT, in the supernatural, if they could only keep their focus there, has always been with them God.    He is not limited and not stingy.   Perhaps it is only my own fanciful thoughts, but maybe not.  What if they had been able to live in joyful anticipation that his promises to provide for them were true even then.  They could have a approached Him joyfully and simply asked for food with thanksgiving.   The Lord was not limited to manna and quail, what other delightful meals would He had brought to them just to satisfy them and love them with had they been able to rest in joyful anticipation of this perfect provision.  How much more, just how much the Lord must have longed to satisfy the Israelites in the desert, to speak tenderly to them in this desert place (Hosea 2:14), what kind of miracles and provisions did the Israelites and God do without because of their grumbling attitudes and unbelieving hearts.

The Lord is in no way stingy or limited but must deprive us if His gifts and lavish love are being received in a way that drives us from Him into self-centredness and worldliness, He can not do that which spoils His dearest ones.

Our lack of thankfulness robs the delight out of the good gifts of God.   Thankfulness creates a hedge against this.  Entitlement always sets someone up for failure, no one can satisfy its ungodly hunger and stringent demands.

I am crying out to see the abounding provision of the  Lord that surrounds my life every day.

Once we receive this, we can enter into this divine flow recognizing that the Lord longs for us to be blessed and sharing the pleasure with Him of sharing the Kingdom of God with others that He also longs to lavish and love. We can look to all that we have been given asking Lord, for whom have I received this gift,, when and how shall I deliver it so that this supernatural provision can be experienced by so many others who are crying out in need.

How can we represent our abounding loving Lord, when are own hearts are fixed in a poverty, limited, lacking, stingy mindset?

Live prepared to be delighted and provided for by the Lord.  This anticipation should glow on us as a confident radiant hope in all circumstances.

Some thoughts anyways…..

John 9:35-41 King James Version (KJV)

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?³⁶ He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?³⁷ And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.³⁸ And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.³⁹ And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.⁴⁰ And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?⁴¹ Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

I love it when something new leaps out from scripture.  I find this verse so interesting.   It is a place where the Lord clarifies what is sin and what is weakness, the difference in how He responds and sees both.

The context of my thinking.   I have so many discussions in my life regarding God’s will and healing.   For me, reading the scriptures literally, leaves only one interpretation.  God promised healing to anyone who sought Him for it, and while we can praise HIm for healing that takes weeks and months and even years, the healing He did on earth was almost always instant and complete (the few exceptions are not even necessary exceptions as an exact timeframe is vague but within a day in these cases like the lepers who were healed as they went).

Here is the beauty of this verse, if I am blind, and know that I am blind and cannot see, and I seek Jesus, well then, there is this great promise in here.    “I am come into this world, that they which see not might see”.   I believe we can approach God with our human limitation like the man whose child had epilepsy and say honestly, I believe, but help me with me unbelief (Mark 9:24) and look forward to this promise being fulfilled.    Therefore, if we are struggling to see the fulfillment of the full promise of wholeness and healing, we can just go as the blind, “Dear Papa, I know your Word says that by Jesus stripes I was healed (1Peter 2:24), but I do not see this in my own body, I am unable to see and understand, please help me, in Jesus Christ name to see your Word and promise fulfilled.  Praise you that you came to help me in my human weakness”

AWESOME!!!!!!!!

On the flip side, this is a warning about adding to the Word of God.    Sometimes to comfort ourselves or others, we come up with reasons, reasons that are not mentioned in the Bible but that we have come to believe through teaching, our own reasoning or our experience.  Here is the snare of the pharisee mindset.   And Jesus point-blank calls this sin.  We claim that we can see when at best we are guessing and at worst we are outright calling God a liar when our words communicate to others that the Lord failed to do what He has promised.

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

I believe the Lord has provided for all of our human weakness when we approach with humility and as a little child.

We can learn from HIs disciples in this too.  Notice they didn’t come up with their own explanation why  the little boy wasn’t healed but simply asked their Teacher to explain.  “Why couldn’t we do it?” Mark 9:28…  It turns out the issue was entirely theirs, unbelief of the disciples was the root issue.  There is no condemnation when we go to God with our inability, only willingness on HIs part to teach us and show us how to over come these things in His strength and wisdom and power.

Mark 16 tells us we are equipped to lay hands on the sick and to cast out devils. Luke 9 and 10 tell us that the apostles were sent out, equipped to heal all diseases and to cast out all demons.  Brothers and sisters, we have been commissioned to preach the Gospel and Heal THE sick.   Let us obey and seek the Lord diligently to fulfill the work He has assigned to us with joy and confident expectation that He who has commissioned us will not fail to equip us to complete the work.

Matthew 6:33

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. “

Even in this we are faithfully seeking the Kingdom of God.    Jesus is ” the Way, the Truth and the Life(John 14:6), and for Him the healing of the sick, was a core and integral part of expressing and revealing the Kingdom. and of His Father’s “will being done on earth as it is in heaven” (Luke 11:2) .. That we may faithfully follow Him and come to the place in our lives that we can say as He said “I only do what I see my Father doing in Heaven”  (John 5:19)