June 5, 2006

• Pastor Don’s Bible study 6/2/06 Covenant Rights, the Way Faith Works.

  It is funny how the Holy Spirit will make sure He underscores a point that He wants you to understand. In my personal reading, the Bible passages I am studying, and Friday’s Bible study taught by Pastor Don all focused on the same issue, the way faith works.

  
  

  Here is Pastor Don’s Friday Bible study 6/2/06

  
  

  People are selfish, self-centered, arrogant, they want what they want when they want it. The last person we blame when things go wrong is ourselves. We look for a scapegoat.

  
  

  Pastor Don asked us what made Jesus target the one person at the pool of Bethesda (which means house of mercy), there were hundreds of sick people there and only one came away healed. Jesus asked him a question, “Do you want to be made well?” Why would Jesus ask that question? He needs the cooperation of the person, their faith, in order to effect a healing.

  
  

  Remember the son who was the demoniac, and Jesus asked the father if he believed, and the father answered, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief.” The man was at a point of positive neutral. And that was pretty good given that the disciples had tried to heal the boy and failed, yet the man was able to believe that it was possible for Jesus to do what the disciples were not able to do. Jesus was not able to perform many miracles in his hometown because people could not believe that a carpenter’s son could do any great thing.

  
  

  Some people in the Church lack knowledge, and a little bit of faith can be a dangerous thing. We have to look at the covenant relationships when we pray over someone.

  
  

  DISCIPLESHIP NOTEBOOK (This was not part of Pastor Don’s Friday Bible study, but it helps to explain what is meant by the above statement, and it comes from the textbook he wrote for us). P 144-145

  
  

   ”I remember one night at Bible study there was a young couple, young believers in the Lord. They had a daughter who possibly had severe allergies to wasp and bee stings. This particular night we had been teaching on healing and that the Power of God is always present to heal when the Word of God is being preached and taught. On this night, the level of Faith was quite high in the meeting.
       The little Girl was stung on the arm by a wasp. She came up screaming and crying to the mother as we all looked and saw that her arm had already swollen at a rapid rate, covering an area of three by three inches, and was already changing colors. The mother and the father took a position of panic, of course, knowing that allergic reactions can be life threatening.
       Knowing that the Power of God was available to heal, I waited on the Holy Spirit. As fear and panic sought to grip the room, I quietly prayed and waited to see if Faith would come alive. After a few minutes of panic and getting the car keys and getting ready to run out, the mother looked up at me and said, “Wait a minute, we could pray, couldn’t we?” I looked and smiled at her with a gentle reassurance.
       I silenced the rest of the room, and I sent for the father. I had the father and the mother holding their little baby, and I instructed them to believe their God, and to lay their hands on the wound, and to command that this poison be of non-effect, and that the swelling go down. The mother’s spirit exploded into prayer, with conviction and power. I also encouraged the rest of the believers to believe along with us and to go into a prayer mode, and those that could pray in the Holy Spirit, I told everyone to believe, or if doubting to move to neutral, and just praise God.
     We need to realize that an atmosphere of Faith creates Faith, and an atmosphere of doubt creates doubt. We’d see many more miracles in the USA if we could get rid of the “show me” “TV show” and “Spectator Sport” attitudes. Remember Mark 6:5, Jesus could do no mighty work in his own home town due to unbelief. Let people know they have a part to play in the Presence of God. What a joy to minister where Satan has not planted tares of doubt, intellectualism and fear.
      As the room filled with spiritual Tongues of the saints building themselves up, and as the mother’s Faith and the father’s Faith rose, the little girl became very, very calm. As I watched her eyes search about the room, she fixed her eyes upon her mother and then looked upon her father, and she realized they were serious and truly believed that no harm was going to come to her. And amazingly, the daughter closed her eyes and came into agreement with the Faith of the parents. The swelling and pain were gone in a few minutes, and the girl ran off to play, healed.
       The room was then filled with praise and joy, and I tell you, these two people are now prayer warriors who will confront the devil whenever he rears his ugly head. I also note that the Holy Spirit gave me proper guidance at the time needed. I could have taken the little girl into my arms, I could have assumed the take-charge-kind’a-guy personality, stomped off with the child into an outer room, and gone and sought the Lord in prayer, and commanded satan and jumped up and down and I would have been in great error. The Holy Spirit was leading to demonstrate to the whole group, and especially to the parents, their authority to build their faith.
       We have to be concerned also about who gets the credit. In a situation like that if I had stormed off and prayed alone and the child was healed, then I would have a room full of people that would have possibly been impressed with me, not necessarily believing God.” (END OF DISCIPLESHIP NOTEBOOK ENTRY)

  
  

   In the above example it is important to realize that the Covenant relationship runs from the parent over the child. When Jesus healed the Centurion’s servant, the Centurion was in a position of power over the servant, a position of responsibility. In the Old Testament, often a servant would choose to stay with a master and present his ear at the door, and become part of the household for as long as the master lives. The master then has the responsibility to take care of the servant and his family.

  
  

  Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

  
  

  It is ignorance to assume that someone oppressed of the devil has the covenant right as to whether that spirit is dismissed or not. Illness is the work of the devil and demonic presence, and some people give satan the covenant permission to be beaten up by satan.

  
  

  Adam and Eve broke covenant with God with their disobedience, and allowed satan the right to run amok on the earth. Even Jesus did not dispute satan’s claim to be lord of the earth during the temptation. Until Jesus returns to rule and reign, satan will affect those on the earth. We have a choice whom we covenant with, Jesus or satan.

  
  

  The Holy Spirit asks us, “Do you want to be made whole.” Pastor Don commented that many who come up in the prayer line actually do not want to be healed. In some cases, welfare would be lost if a person is healed, some come up because their friends force them to come up, but they are not in agreement with healing, others have grown accustomed to the problem and situation and hold onto the problem as if it were a friend.

  
  

  In every situation that Jesus healed a person, He made sure that they were in agreement with the healing. He asked Blind Bartemaeus what he wanted Jesus to do. Jesus did not assume that he was calling out to be healed of blindness, could be that there would have been something else that Bartemaeus wanted healing from. Jesus did not force healing on anyone who did not want to be healed. When Jesus looked at Bartemaeus, he saw all the infirmities that he had, and Jesus asked him, which do you want healing for.

  
  

  You can be blind and go to heaven. Jesus was more concerned with the condition of a person’s soul and spirit.

  
  

  Life is complicated, what we see on the external of a person isn’t all that is to be seen. We don’t know all the particulars of why a person is facing what they are facing. It is important to hook up with a person’s faith. If we try to push a person beyond what their faith is able to believe we set them up for failure and no one is blessed. It is better to see what a person can believe for, and pray with them at that level. For some it could be complete healing, for others it could be that the doctor can cure them or a pill can cure them.

  
  

  The blood of Jesus, repenting and cleansing of  sin can heal a person.

  
  

  2 Cor. 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed us to the word of reconciliation.”

  
  

  2 Corinthians  6.  There is a covenant of health, if I break all the health rules of eating, rest, doing what God recommends, then I am making a covenant with disease. The Power of God will show up when I repent of the covenant I have broken and desire reconciliation.

  
  

  When God does not seem to heal, when healing doesn’t work for someone who feels that they are following the Bible, living a good life, but they can’t quite get healed, they tend to change the Bible teaching to suit limited understanding. They think, I am a good Christian, I can’t get healed, others aren’t being healed, so therefore the healings and miracles that the apostles and Jesus did are not for this age.

  
  

  We create a theology of excuse, a theology of blame. These theologies are a cop out, the truth is that people did not have enough faith. Repentance means 180 degree turn around.

  
  

  God is not like Central Hudson (our electric company). He doesn’t waste good energy on bad circuits. God will sometimes refuse to listen to false promises, will not respond to lack of faith. (Heather’s note – this is a loving act of God, whose sole concern is to grow us in faith and relationship with Him, sometimes not being healed is what will force a person to really evaluate their life and relationship with God, and they will come out of the situation healed in more than just the external symptoms, but healed deep within).

  
  

  Job’s healing came, not when he was claiming his righteous innocence, but when he claimed, “I know my redeemer lives..” Then God had Job pray and sacrifice for his friends for misrepresenting God to Job. We cannot second guess God’s reasons for the circumstances in our lives or in other’s lives. We have to trust God’s Word, even when a person’s situation does not seem to change.

  
  

  2 Corinthians 6:1 “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”

  
  

  God is expecting you to do what He says you can do. Most people’s faith stops at salvation. But salvation is not just the saving of our immortal souls, but it also implies deliverance, healing, wellness, not just a soul going to heaven. God wants us free and living full lives until we are satisfied. Ps. 90 and 91, we are to live until we are satisfied. And God wants us to live in the fullness of His salvation, living from glory to glory, faith to faith.

  
  

  I mentioned to Pastor Don that sometimes my prayer life suffers (less now than before, but I still find myself doing this) because when I pray to God for a situation I have in my mind the path that I feel God should take to accomplish what I am praying with. I have the whole roadmap in my mind, and when God doesn’t seem to be following the order I have in my mind, then I felt that He wasn’t working in my life. The truth is that God hears our prayers, and does things in the way that is most beneficial for us, that we have to trust that God will hear and answer. But the external circumstances may remain the same until the healing is done first deep within.

  
  

  Pastor Don had us write in our bibles: MY EXPECTATIONS CAUSE MY DISAPPOINTMENTS.

  
  

  Hopes are different from expectations. We are to hope, and expect that God will move, but God is sovereign and will move in the way that He knows is best and with His timing. (Heather’s note, sometimes God seems to me to take so long to move, but He knows what is best).

  
  

  There is also a distinction between will and expectations. God wants us to walk in His will which may be far different from our expectations.

  
  

  Saved or unsaved – we are all facing the destruction that satan has done on the earth, the health conditions and the effects of a fallen world. But the believer has something that the unsaved do not have, we have God on our side and a hope.

  
  

  Matthew 14:22-33 This is the story of Jesus walking on the water, and the disciples see Him walking on the sea, and are troubled, thinking it is a ghost. , starting at verse 27 “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid,” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat the wind ceased. then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

  
  

  There is the obvious point of this story about faith, taking one’s eyes off of Jesus and sinking, those who stayed in the boat, etc. but there is another aspect to this story that Pastor Don covered.

  
  

  There is the first one, the question, who are you? Are you a Ghost? Are you the Son of God? To answer this question, Peter put out a simple test. “If you are the Son of God, command me to come to You on the water.” Well, Jesus answered that test and commanded Peter. Peter at that point could have said, ok, you commanded me, you are the son of God. The second one is, notice that Peter said, “IF” it is that if that is also a lack of faith, given that Peter had seen so many miracles that Christ had done.

  
  

  Peter could have asked Jesus to prove that He was the son of God by laying out any fleece, it didn’t have to be walk on water, could have been any other request.

  
  

  The Lord will prove to you that He loves you, even if you are failing in faith, he will save you. No matter how much you mess up in your life, the Lord will show himself strong, He will be there IMMEDIATELY when you cry out to Him. His goal is to grow our faith.

  
  

  Heather’s note, I struggle with faith at times, there are some areas I have strong faith in, other areas my faith is weak. I know that my situation is dependent on what I am believing for, and I am learning more and more how much I can trust God. When I look at my life, I see situations that God needs to grow me in, other areas where I haven’t put my whole will in line with God. But in those areas that I finally understand what God is wanting me to know and learn, I have seen rapid progress. We are works in progress. I know that I am easy to come away from a lesson like this condemned, but that is not what is meant to happen. God, when He teaches me, sometimes the truth hurts, but it is a hurt with healing in mind. God would never scratch open a wound unless He was prepared to heal it. God scratched open a few wounds with this lesson for me, I have to trust that healing will come from this.

  
  

  Hoping you have a blessed day.
  Heather

  • 10:04 am
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