Good news of great joy
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.”
Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people (emphasis added). “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”
Christmas is all about giving. God so loved the world He GAVE His Son. He gave us many things but three stand out to me because of Jesus’ birth: -
a) A way back to the Father – in sending Jesus we now have a path back to the Father - reconciliation – until Jesus was born – sin had no Saviour.
b) Victory over the works of the enemy – as one writer puts it “until Jesus was born satan’s intentions were unbridled.” It could be said satan felt he had the victory right up until the night before Jesus’ birth. History records however he had no victory at all, for at the Cross Jesus had the ultimate victory even over death! If Jesus hadn’t come to the world, died and gone back the Father, the precious Holy Spirit could not have been given to us.
c) He gave us grace – the one who came from the Father John 1:1 tells us is full of grace and truth. What is grace? God’s unmerited favour and His enabling power. So undeserved but so powerful and needed every day.
V9 “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
3 key phrases in this angelic pronouncement.
1. Good News – the good news is of course we are no longer bound in sin – we have direct access to the Father and the immediate and ongoing forgiveness of our sins. That great hymn puts it this way "Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature’s night – Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke the dungeon flamed in light, my chains fell off my heart was free I rose, went forth and followed thee." That’s good news no matter how you look at it. Freedom in Christ – the little baby born in a manger brought freedom to you and me.
2. Great Joy - being in relationship with God is meant to be a joyful experience. A personal relationship with the creator God through His Son Jesus brings great joy to us. “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God.” (1 John 3:1). It gives me great joy to be called a son of God and a joint heir with Christ.
3. For ALL people – to Jews and Greeks, slave and free, one and all! ‘All’ in the Greek means all. There are no exclusions by race, gender, family heritage, upbringing, education, the sort of life we’ve had, what we’ve done or not done, what side of the tracks we’re born on – the good news is for ALL people.
What then can we give to God this Christmas?
I believe He simply desires a life devoted to Him and His kingdom here. The good news of great joy was for all people. How do all people hear about this good news if you and I don’t tell others about the goodness of God.
Let’s bring our gift of humility and devotion to Him afresh today. “God, would you use me for the advancement of your kingdom?”
God holds out the gift of grace to us. There are moments when His gift of grace makes perfect sense. A cheque in the mail when you have a pile of bills. A phone call when you're lonely. God's peace when you're troubled. We understand that expression of God’s Grace!
There are other moments when His gift of Grace seems a little strange. Forgiveness when you still feel guilty. A kind word from a friend when you've been unkind. A hug from a child when you've lost your temper.
Our job is to freely receive the gift of grace from the Giver. It takes open eyes and an open heart to receive the grace God sends to us through our friends and families. But when we receive, then the gift does its wonderful work. Once the gift has changed us then we can freely share the gift with others.
Let’s give the gift of love to someone this Christmas and if necessary, let’s give the gift of forgiveness to someone, if not personally, then let’s offer up the offence to God and allow Him to bring peace, healing and comfort to us.
Finally let’s give God the gift of our lives this Christmas. He gave us His only Son. What is your response to His gift of life and freedom today?
May you have a blessed and peaceful Christmas!
God is near
We read in Psa 148:18-19 “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.”
Further promises of God’s providential care are before us today. We have a Father God who is near to ALL who call on Him. So often God is portrayed as being distant, aloof or an angry man with a big stick ready to smite anyone who would dare step off the ‘straight and narrow’. Nothing could possibly be further from the loving Father of which we read over and again throughout the Bible.
Jesus’ answer to Philip when he asked Him to show the disciples the Father was simply and yet profoundly “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:8-9). In other words, Jesus is the exact representation of His Father which is also confirmed in Heb 1:3 where it says “Jesus is the exact representation of God’s glory” or as the NKJV renders it “the express image of His person.”
We can see clearly from these verses if we can’t see an attribute in Jesus, it won’t exist in God the Father. Jesus modelled compassion which most often resulted in a miracle taking place, love for everyone with whom He had contact (with the exception of the religious people), and a willingness to stop and minister to the person in front of Him irrespective of their socio-economic status, ethnicity, education or any other factor.
We return to where we began today. We only need call on Him and God will listen, save (literally liberate, deliver and give victory to) and fulfil (fashion, accomplish, make) the desires of those who reach out to Him in truth.
One step at a time
We read of the call of Abram in Genesis 12. God told him to leave his country, his people and his father’s house and go to the land He would show him. In other words leave your place of safety, security and familiarity, trust Me and I will show you where to go. It’s interesting to note the Lord didn’t give him the destination or even details of what might befall him on the journey, but a simple instruction to leave where you are and go to the place I will show you.
We learn from the first few verses in Genesis 12 there would be promises attached to his obedience:- “I will make you a great nation, I will bless you…and make your name great.” Abram was 75 when he received this instruction and yet we read in v4 “so Abram left as the Lord had told him.”
How did he reach his destination? One step at a time! When many people would be contemplating how to spend that phase of retirement, Abram stepped out in obedience into the great unknown and I believe it’s fair to say it was a blessing the Lord didn’t show him then exactly that which lay ahead.
I was recently reminded of a bushwalking trip I was on in the Southwest wilderness area of Tasmania more years ago than I care to remember. A group of us had hiked all day in the summer heat and we reached our campsite adjacent to a lake late in the afternoon as the sun began to set below the surrounding mountains. I remember looking at the map and realising our challenge for the next day began with a steep climb of around 800m up the Ironbound range (aptly named for sure). This range looked huge from our campsite.
The morning broke with the sound of heavy rain and strong winds battering the tent. We packed up and set out on the next leg of our journey – one step at a time. By the time we began our ascent of this huge mountain range, the rain with icy sleet was coming in horizontally driven by what seemed like cyclonic winds. There was no turning back. We had to press on in order to complete our 14 day hike. I remember quite vividly, I just had to focus on the next step. To look up was daunting to look out was frightening as the lightning began to flash ever closer. Just another step and we were nearer the summit which had to be reached to not only see what was on the other side but of course to continue our journey.
Let me encourage you. No matter what mountain you are presently facing, be it health challenges, financial, relational, emotional or spiritual, it is overcome one step at a time. Each and every day is a gift from God and ever so precious. If we focus on the height or width of the ‘mountain,’ it will invariably appear unclimbable but I have learned over the years to just focus on the next step of the journey. When I’ve done this (and I don’t get it right every time), it has amazed me the mountains that seemed too high, too wide, too hard, too huge or too catastrophic, with the Lord’s strength and power have in the fullness of time been traversed, climbed and conquered and often not quite in the way I had expected.
Integrity, character, moral strength, resilience and a Godly reputation are built one day at a time, in the midst of the trials. It is not an instant or overnight process.
12 years of pain and suffering
We read in Mark 5 the story of the woman with the issue of blood to which it is often referred. I believe this title or ‘catch phrase’ totally understates the magnitude of this woman’s predicament. The Bible teaches us she had a ‘flow of blood for twelve years’ (v 25). It is interesting to note the Bible initially refers to her as a ‘certain woman’. There’s no reference to her age, social status, family line or other details so often mentioned in scripture. This in itself, I believe is significant. She was a nameless nobody who no doubt would have been a total outcast in the society in which she lived at this time. She was ‘unclean’ in the Biblical sense of the word under Mosaic law and moreover would not have been allowed in a public place without calling out ‘unclean’ wherever she went. She must have ventured out on occasion, as the Bible tells us she had spent all she had on medical assistance of the day and she ‘grew worse’ not better.
I find it fascinating to contemplate what made this ‘certain’ woman, with no name or social status, on this specific day to think ‘I have to get to Jesus today’. Clearly, she’d heard about this Healer and heard many testimonies of His miracle working power such that she would risk public shame and ridicule and press through the thronging crowd to touch the hem of His garment. Jesus didn’t pray for her, nor did He lay hands on her. In fact, she laid hands on him and ‘extracted’ her miracle from Him by faith! We see from this account He felt power go out from Him and at that moment in time immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up. The word here for ‘fountain’ in the Greek literally means ‘a well, fed by a spring’. This was no minor gynaecological matter. This poor woman had been bleeding profusely for 12 years and was no doubt financially impoverished as a result!
Her predicament changed in a moment of reaching out and touching Jesus. However, there was more than a physical healing which I’m sure she was so thankful to receive. Verse 34 holds these amazing words… “Daughter, your faith has made you well…” Again, the original Greek means ‘daughter acceptable to God, rejoicing in God’s peculiar care and attention.’
This nameless ‘certain’ woman, who essentially is anonymous, is now described as a daughter of God and Jesus commends her for her great faith. What a wonderful demonstration of God’s power extracted from Jesus by the woman’s faith.
Immovable safety
We read in Psa 125:1-2:- “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.”
There is great courage to be taken from just these two verses. The imagery the Psalmist uses paints a very clear picture for those who trust in the Lord. Mount Zion is a hill just outside the walls of the old city. However there’s greater depth of meaning here than just a hill. Mountains are steadfast and immovable (generally speaking) and therefore paint a picture for us of strength and safety.
Verse 2 declares the Lord surrounds His people forever and we can surely draw comfort, peace and hope from this fact. This isn’t just metaphorical language but a rock solid promise (no pun intended) for those who put their trust in the living God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 states the Lord will direct the paths of those who don’t trust in their own understanding, experience or cleverness but for those who acknowledge Him in ALL their ways.
The good news today is that the Lord guides, protects, comforts and sustains those who would put their trust in His unfailing love. There is no safer place to be on this planet than to be surrounded by the God of the heavens and earth!
Come what may, we can have peace in a world plagued by ever increasing depravity, crime, & corruption in every sphere of society. We shouldn’t be surprised by world events. The Bible tells us in the 3rd chapter of 2nd Timothy there will be terrible times in the last days (see 2 Tim 3:1-5) and this is what is happening on the world stage even as I write these words.
Back to where we began. “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion… as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people…forever!”
May I encourage you to continue to put your trust in THE most trustworthy person – His Name is Jesus.
Great faith
We read in Matt 8:5-13 the story of the centurion’s servant who was healed ‘by proxy’. In reply to Jesus’ offer to go to his house and heal his servant, the Roman officer said “only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus marvelled at the centurion’s great faith. “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” The centurion’s servant “was healed from that very hour”, the Bible declares. This didn’t come about by a ‘house visit’ from the Healer, nor from a pronouncement by the Master but I believe by the centurion’s faith.
Others were applauded for their great faith too. The Syrophoenician (Canaanite) woman who had a daughter who was severely demon-possessed (Matt 15:21-28). This woman was a Gentile, however when Jesus ignored her first plea, she simply persisted. His first verbal response to her persistent attitude was “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. In other words my focus and purpose is primarily to the children of Israel – the Jewish people. This didn’t dissuade her in the least. She came and worshipped Him (v25) and cried out “Lord help me.” This woman was desperate to have her daughter rescued from the tormenting demon. Nothing was going to stop her from appropriating freedom for her daughter. Many of us would have been offended by His reply - not her!
As she pressed in once again to the Healer and Saviour, Jesus’ reply was “O woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire” (v28). The Bible records her daughter was healed from that very hour.
A lady come to the Healing Rooms with one foot in a normal shoe and the other one in a ‘moon-boot’ which for the uninitiated is a large padded boot one wears for foot or ankle injuries. Her foot had been injured and she came to seek healing from Jesus.
Such was her faith she brought her other normal shoe so she could put it on once her damaged foot was healed. The team prayed for her, releasing the healing presence of Jesus. When they’d finished praying, she removed the moon-boot and put on her normal shoe and walked out of the Healing Rooms with no pain whatsoever! What great faith! She could have just waited until she arrived home to swap shoes, but no she demonstrated ‘great faith’. She had a confident expectation Jesus was going to heal her that day.
Let’s be people of great faith like the centurion, Canaanite woman and the lady with the moon-boot fully believing that when we press into the Healer He WILL meet us.
Are your hands clean?
“Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalm 24:3-5
As parents we teach our children to wash their hands especially before eating for obvious reasons. Cleanliness is very important to our physical health and the events of recent years have demonstrated clearly the importance of hygiene.
This passage from Psa 24 however describes hygiene of a different type, and dare I say of far greater importance. Those who truly desire to abide in the Father’s Presence (v3) are those with clean (free from guilt, innocent) hands and a pure (sincere) heart. This speaks to us of pure motives, intentions and actions in dealing with others in thought, word and deed.
The passage goes on to articulate further prerequisites to living in the Presence of God. They are those who maintain purity in worship and speak the truth. In other words those who don’t have idols in their lives and have integrity in their speech and actions. As humans we worship that upon which we focus.
In a world where truth is becoming more and more subjective, a growing prevalence of ‘anything goes’, trial by media, and the ‘gospel according to YouTube’, we must remain steadfast in our worship, integrity and discernment. Near enough isn’t good enough.
You might be wondering what this has to do with healing. I believe the truth is simply stated thus:- if we desire to live under the protection and covering of God then we must live according to His ways. The Bible uses some old fashioned words in this regard – statutes and ordinances. In simple terms, statutes are those Biblical standards or boundaries for life. Ordinances are those commands God has given in order for us to live under the favour of heaven. These aren’t popular words in our 21st century society. However as I often say, if we want heaven’s results and blessings we have to live life heaven’s way in accordance with God’s ordinances and statutes.
The Christian life isn’t keeping a whole list of rules and regulations and hopefully somehow ‘qualifying’ for a place in heaven. It is a daily relationship with the One who gave His life for us. Who wouldn’t want to live in harmony with Him? The way to do that, put simply today, is to have clean hands and a pure heart?
So let me ask you are your hands clean and is your heart pure? If not, ask the Lord to forgive you and show you how to live according to His Word. He longs to have each and every one of His children up close and personal with Him – not distant and separated.
Safety in His Presence
We read in Psalm 27:4-6 “One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.”
Prevention is better than cure and healing comes in many forms. These verses remind us of the protection and safety we have as a direct result of remaining in God’s Presence.
David knew the safety afforded by abiding in the Presence of God. As a young shepherd, he had defeated a lion and bear with his bare hands when theses predators had tried to plunder his father’s flock. As an older man he experienced life threatening situations with King Saul trying to kill him (primarily) out of jealousy and his son Absalom wanting to usurp his father’s authority and take the throne.
In all of these circumstances and many battles with enemy armies, David, the one whom the Bible refers to as a man after God’s heart, knew the assurance of safety in living with an experiential knowledge of God’s Presence.
The same is true for each of us today. Whilst it’s fair to say not many of us will have to face a king trying to kill us with his spear, or take on lions or bears, we do have an enemy who only comes to rob, kill and destroy (John 10:10).
However the good news of which I remind you today is there is SAFETY in the Presence of God. The Bible declares “If God is for us then WHO can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). No one and no thing!
David gives us the key to resting in this place of safety. It flows directly from abiding in His Presence – dwelling in the house of the Lord, not just on Sundays for a couple of hours in church but abiding in His Presence and gazing upon His beauty and Majesty each and every day.
Then in the day of trouble He promises us safety, shelter, protection and further that we would be lifted above our enemies be they natural or spiritual.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Psa 46:1 There is safety in His Presence!
Stand firm
David writes in Psa 62:1-2:- “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defence (strong tower); I shall not be greatly moved (shaken).” Then in v8 “trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
We see from these verses how David found assurance, comfort and strength in his relationship with the living God. The great 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon is quoted as saying:- “The worst of evils of life are those which do not exist except in our imagination. If we had no troubles but real troubles, we should have a 10th of our present sorrows.” In other words, much of the trouble we experience in life and as a result the wellbeing of our physical bodies, is directly linked to how we think. The Bible declares “as he thinks in his heart so is he” Prov 23:7 (NKVJ).
If our thinking is flawed and not in line with God’s word, we will struggle in life and can in fact open ourselves up to sickness and disease. Anxiety flowing from thoughts of ‘what might happen’, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, jealousy, shame and guilt to name a few, can cause our physical bodies to be weak.
We have witnessed time and again at the Healing Rooms, healing in all its fullness manifest in the bodies of those who have dealt with these emotions. Having laid them at the foot of the Cross, confessed any known sin and received the forgiveness Jesus paid for at Calvary they walk in freedom and health in body, mind and spirit.
Further when we choose to forgive those who have hurt us, we nullify the enemy’s ‘legal right’ to keep us in a place where Jesus has ‘paid for us not to be’. We in essence cancel his access to us. The enemy is a legalist and can only ‘remain’ or afflict if he has a legal right to do so through unforgiveness or the other sins listed above.
Just like David, we too are able to ‘stand firm’ by reminding ourselves our strength comes from God alone. There is no other who can provide this safety and refuge. We can take the cue from David to wait silently for Him. There is no other who is able to be such a fortress for us in any storm which may invariably come our way.
In these rapidly changing and uncertain times, let me encourage you today to ‘stand firm’ in the assurance that God is a refuge for you. He will fight the battle for you and ultimately bring the victory!
A promise of deliverance
Psa 34:17-20 says:- “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.”
Here are more wonderful promises for us. David knew first-hand what it was like to be pursued, hunted and threatened. King Saul, filled with jealousy and rage tried on several occasions to take David’s life. David even had 2 opportunities to exact revenge on the king however he knew it would be wrong to do so (see 1 Sam 26:11).
David also knew what it was like to be rejected by his friends and those who had turned on him in the heat of battle. So he was acquainted with trials and challenges from the earliest of days when as a young man he’d been out tending to his father’s sheep in total obscurity. He had defeated the lion and the bear when they had attacked his father’s flock so he had experience with God’s protection.
This is why he could so confidently say “a righteous man may have many troubles but the Lord delivers him from them all…” (emphasis mine). He had experienced over and over again the deliverance of the Lord.
This isn’t just a promise for a boy who became king. This is a promise for anyone who calls on the Lord. For those who have surrendered their lives to Jesus, they are made righteous in God’s eyes through the blood of His Son. Therefore we can confidently expect God to deliver us from all our troubles.
This word for ‘deliver’ in the original language means to rescue, save, restore and recover! It is a verb – an action word and something the Lord does for us or on our behalf. Further the word used in the Hebrew for ‘all’ is translated all, the whole, each, totality and everything in English. What more could we ask for?
So be encouraged today – no matter what trial, trouble or adversity you are presently facing – the Lord will deliver you from them ALL!
His mandate and ours
In Luke 4 :16-21 we read “…He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;…Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus returned from the time of testing in the desert in the power of the Spirit and went into the synagogue and gave a declaration about the mandate He had from the Father to heal, restore and deliver. What a powerful proclamation concluding with “today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” leaving no doubt whatsoever as to His identity. Those present were the first to hear the fulfilment of Isaiah’s words penned hundreds of years previously.
The anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus empowered Him to go about the Father’s business not only preaching about the Kingdom but each time He did, He demonstrated the power of the Kingdom to those listening to him. This included but wasn’t limited to, multiplying food, raising the dead, opening blind eyes or deaf ears, and setting free those afflicted by demons. He told His followers the very thing which sustained him (He called it food) was to do the will of the Father who had sent Him to earth (John 4:34).
He passed the baton to us to continue this work until He returns again. I believe when we ‘preach’ the Kingdom, we must be able to demonstrate the Kingdom to the hearers or our words are empty and meaningless. Paul put it this way…”my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…” (1 Cor 2:4).
Be encouraged today! We have a mandate from heaven to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out the demons and cleanse the lepers – we have freely received so we must freely give to those with whom we have contact (Matt 10:8). His power and goodness are FAR too good to keep to ourselves. It all beings with 5 simple words – “may I pray for you?” Remember it is not by might, or power but by the Spirit of God! (Zec 4:6).
Unbelievably trusting
While in worship at Healing Rooms recently, the thought came to me of just how trusting the Lord is with us humans.
Right from the garden of Eden, His plan has been for us to co-labour with Him to bring about His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
The first ‘commission’ given to the initial occupants of planet earth was:- “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth” Gen 1:28 NKJV.
He trusted ‘us’ with His newly created world. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have done that. I would have them on ‘L plates’ for a few generations just to make sure they didn’t ruin the perfect environment I’d just created. (Aren’t you glad I’m not God 😊)
It was man’s responsibility to be good stewards of the planet, to look after it and multiply. We know of course with the benefit of hindsight, we as humans have not been trustworthy and right from the fall of man, detailed only two chapters later we have been missing the mark and making a mess of things ever since with modern times only shouting we are getting far worse!
Fast forward to Jesus’ short ministry on planet earth. From the very start of His public ministry He was training, equipping and releasing ‘raw recruits’ many of whom were ordinary, uneducated men to do the work of the kingdom. He sent the twelve (Luke 9:1-5) and the seventy two (Luke 10:1-9) out with fairly basic instructions – ‘tell them the kingdom has come near them, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons” (Matt 10:7-8).
He trusted them to ‘do the work’ and they came back excited that even the demons submitted to them.
Notwithstanding man’s poor track record right through history, His plan remains the same. He trusts us to build the kingdom and of course many times we get it wrong. We open our mouths prior to engaging our brain and say things we shouldn’t, (well I do anyway), we are quick to speak and slow to listen in direct contradiction to James’ instructions to us (Jam 1:19) and yet He STILL trusts us to be His arms, legs and spokespersons despite our many shortcomings. What an amazingly trusting Father!
Following His Resurrection, Jesus told those gathered to wait until they were endued with power and ‘re-commissioned’ them, (prior to receiving this empowering of the Holy Spirit) to go into all the world, preach the gospel and heal the sick promising them and by implication us, He’d be with us always. Further, He also restored Peter who had denied him three times in Jesus’ greatest time of need which to my mind demonstrates once again just how trusting He is of us.
May I encourage all of us with this final thought. This amazing trust He has put in us as His children surely is worthy of nothing less than giving our all to Him and surrendering once again with a heart attitude that says “Father use me in any way you choose. I will go where you send me and do what you ask of Me for the glory of your great Name!”
The Power of Presence
If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favour with you…then Moses said to Him, “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all other people on the face of the earth?” (Emphasis added) Ex 33:13-16.
We hear the cry of the heart of Moses in these few verses. If you don’t go with us then we’re not going anywhere. The Presence of God was just so important to Moses he wasn’t about to move unless the Lord went with them. As children of the Most High God there should be a ‘difference’ in us. Moses says here what else will distinguish us from all the other people on planet earth?
I truly believe that people today are hungry for an authentic experience of God. People are hungry for the ‘real thing’. How does the song put it? “When the music fades and all is stripped away, and I simply come longing just to bring something that's of worth that will bless Your heart…” There’s one simple but profound key here. It’s the Presence of God. We’re so hungry for His Presence at the Healing Rooms because it’s His Presence that ushers in the anointing that breaks the yoke of sickness and disease in the lives of those who come.
In His Presence there is fullness of joy. In His Presence there’s perfect liberty and in His Presence sickness, disease and everything from the enemy’s kingdom must flee.
The Father is just SO interested in the whole person. He loves each of us SO much that He sent Jesus not only to take away our sin but also to provide for our healing, deliverance and provision. Jesus came to pave the way for us to exchange shame for His glory, to replace rejection with acceptance and set us in a place of blessing instead of living under the curse.
There’s nothing more Jesus can do than has already been done for our salvation, healing and deliverance. His work at the Cross was completely perfect and perfectly complete and we get to enjoy the benefits of His sacrifice for us.
His Presence is not something that can be ‘manufactured’ although many have tried. It can’t be produced with music or nice décor but is a gift from heaven that we guard with ‘holy jealousy’.
Can I encourage you to get into His Presence? Get away quietly somewhere and allow the Father’s love to wash over you. In this hectic age in which we live, there seems so little time to stop and reflect on His love, but you know it’s been said nothing ever changes until it changes!
We are the ones who get to choose the depth of intimacy we have with our loving Father. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness and then allows us to participate in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). What an AWESOME privilege. We get to be Jesus with skin on to those in a lost and dying world who are yet to meet the King!
We get to carry His life changing Presence with us everywhere we go. Just think everywhere you go this week you get to take the Presence of God – into your workplaces, schools, colleges, universities and even to the place of retail therapy!
YOU can change a person’s life for eternity just by remembering you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It’s really very simple if you just follow what Jesus said to do – Love God and love people. If we adopt this as a primary motivation in life then I believe the rest will follow.
Why not give it a try today? Simply say “Father use me today to bring blessing to another person” and leave the rest up to Him. He IS true to His Word and will pour out His Spirit on you as you go about your everyday lives.
Keys for Life
Psa 1:1-3 says:- “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”
A very well known passage. Simple, and yet profound keys for living a blessed life are found in these first few verses of the book of Psalms.
There is a clear progression here, from walking to standing to sitting. These verses cover all aspects of movement in our lives. When we are walking with the ungodly, we can expect to pick up some of their attributes which are contrary to God’s Kingdom and His best for our lives. There was a sign erected over the bench of the maintenance fitter who used to work for me in a factory long ago and it read “it’s hard to soar like an eagle when you hang around turkeys.”
Standing implies a lack of forward momentum; standing in the path of sinners implies we have begun to stand in their steps aligning ourselves with their ‘sinful’ ways and characteristics.
When we sit with the unrighteous, those with impure motives and morals, those who perhaps cut corners in business deals or have a ‘near enough is good enough attitude’ to their integrity, simply won’t attract the favour of heaven into our lives. When we are sitting, we have begun to relax, lost all forward impetus and are taking it easy. If we truly desire to live in Divine health, not just physically but also emotionally and spiritually, we have to live life God’s way. Please don’t misunderstand me – the Christian life is NOT about striving, or works and of course there are times to rest and times to work. However, this passage clearly shows us where we shouldn’t be walking, standing or sitting.
Those who chose to delight themselves in God’s law, (His Word) are promised fruitfulness, health and prosperity.
Where or with whom are you walking, sitting or standing in your life at present?
Maintain a healthy spirit
Proverbs 18:14 says “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?”Solomon reminds us about the importance of having a healthy spirit. It is our spirit that sustains us in sickness or infirmity as other translations render it.
Of course we know our spirit comes alive to the Spirit of God when we are born again – when we surrender our lives to Jesus. It is the very essence of a human being. We are a spirit with a soul and living in a body.
Our bodies can get sick from time to time and they decay with the passing years. It is our spirit that lives eternally and we receive a new body in heaven, mortality is exchanged for immortality for those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour (see 1 Cor 15:38-54).
I have known several people who once they have ‘given up their will to live’ death has followed soon thereafter. Similarly I have met and ministered to those who despite severe diagnoses, and who were desperately ill have been sustained by their spirit which wasn’t ready to give up and die and outlived the medical ‘death sentence’.
It is so important to guard our spirits and keep them clean and healthy before the Lord. David said in Psa 51 v10 as he repented for his sin with Bathsheba, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” The prophet Nathan had brought to his attention the sin he had committed not only with Bathsheba but also her husband Uriah. HE was restored and the Bible declares him to be a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). That’s restoration!
Unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment and sin just to mention a few, wound our spirit which can then open the door to sickness and disease. Returning to our verse for today “The spirit of a man will sustain (support, nourish) him in sickness…”
So guard the health of your spirit!
New mercies for you today
Lamentations 3:21-24 says: This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
Most scholars attribute Jeremiah as the author of this tiny, poetic book nestled between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It is filled with laments over the destruction of Jerusalem. This often graphic book laments the various aspects and consequences of the sin of God’s people which of course led to the destruction of the Holy City.
The book concludes with repentance:- “Turn us back to you, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old, unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us” (Lam 5:21-22 NKJV).
The focus for today however, is on His great mercy and faithfulness. In amongst all the lamenting over the predicament in which God’s people find themselves, the author says:- “This I recall to my mind therefore I have hope” (v21). I believe it is when we choose to remind ourselves of God’s goodness and His faithfulness to us, hope can be restored.
Perhaps you’re feeling full of lament, maybe regretting some past decisions and the resulting consequences. Can I encourage you today to recall to mind His great faithfulness? His mercies (goodness, kindness and faithfulness) are new every morning. He doesn’t expect us to get by with the leftovers of yesterday’s mercies. He has new mercies for you and me today. As the writer states:- “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.” Remind your soul (your mind, will and emotions) as David often did in his Psalms, that the Lord is your portion “Therefore I have hope in Him!” (v24). Don’t waste today’s mercies.
There is work to be done
I was reminded recently of the scripture in Ephesians 4. Paul teaches the Ephesian church on the gifts Jesus has given to His body, the church, often referred to as the 5-fold gifts or the 5-fold ministries.
In v11 he says: - "and He Himself (speaking of Jesus) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…” (emphasis added).
There is no shortage of people who need a healing touch from the King of Kings – the One who paid for our healing with the stripes on His back. Jesus has given gifts for the express purpose of equipping the church to do the work He commissioned us to do before He returned to heaven.
There are simply not enough pastors, ministers, and priests to do the work of the Kingdom on their own. If you are a Christian and therefore a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ then there is work to do. We don’t have to strive and strain to do this work. The only requirement is to be totally surrendered to Jesus and trust Him to work through you to see the lost found, the sick healed and the oppressed delivered. Time is short friends and if ever the world in which we live needed a demonstration of God’s love and power, it is now!
He has given these gifts in order for the saints, you and me, to be equipped to do the work of the ministry. You are IN the ministry of Jesus if you have given your life to Him. There is no distinction in the Scripture between those who are in full time or paid ministry and those who perhaps are a stay-at-home mum, school teacher, lawyer, accountant, plumber or public servant. Those He calls, He equips and qualifies to do this amazing work.
I read only today, ‘our goal isn’t to get out of this world in one piece; it’s to take as many people we can with us to Heaven!’ In other words, we aren’t here waiting for the rapture and hoping the enemy doesn’t get us in the meantime. There is work to be done and what a privilege Jesus has given us to co-labour with Him to see the lost saved.
Paul continues in v14 of the same chapter by saying the whole body grows, is built up in love and strengthened when each part does its work.
As followers of Jesus, we have been given an assignment to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out the demons (Matt 10:8). What are you waiting for? May I encourage you today to step out and tell someone of the Good News of Jesus; to pray for someone who needs healing or breakthrough and leave the rest up to Him! He is faithful to His Word and just loves His followers stepping out in faith-filled obedience.
Jesus said “if you ask anything in my Name, I will do it.” What a wonderful promise for us! That which we seek and ask for in faith we will find and it will be done for us. Let me encourage you to ask Jesus for more ‘Divine Appointments’ – opportunities for you to give away the goodness of God to those He brings across your path. Then watch and be amazed at how clever He is in orchestrating circumstances in your life as you see His love, mercy, grace and power touch people He pre-purposed for you to encounter for the glory of His matchless Name!
Walking by Faith
I have been reflecting lately on this walk of faith we are called to live as God’s children. The Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). Perhaps you’re thinking that’s easy for Paul to say. He was the great apostle who authored the bulk of the New Testament. However we learn from Scripture the prophet Habakkuk first mentioned this principle of living by faith in this way… “But the just shall live by his faith” (Hab 2:4) so this is not just a New Testament concept.
The original language here for ‘live’ means: - to have life, remain alive, sustain life or to be restored to life or health. It is interesting to note here too the personal nature of faith – the just shall live by his faith. That is to say we have to exercise OUR faith, not that of our parents, the pastor or anyone else. This is a personal walk with Jesus to which we are called.
The challenge for we humans is to look past the natural - our circumstances, problems, relationship challenges, health concerns, lack or whatever it is that is seeking to rob us of faith. Of course I’m not suggesting we should live in denial. The only denial I believe we should exercise is denying the issue, problem, challenge, etc to exalt itself above the Name of Jesus and His AMAZING ability to work ALL things together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).
I’m the first to agree it is challenging to look past that which is staring us in the face day after day but therein lies the very heart of walking by faith and not by sight. It is counter cultural, counter intuitive but such is the very nature of faith. The Bible declares it is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for and the EVIDENCE of things NOT seen (Heb 11:1). Further without this at times mysterious ‘commodity’ it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).
With the challenges facing us in the ministry here at CHR, even as I pen this article, I’m encouraged yet again to look to the author and perfecter of my faith – the One who holds the UNIVERSE in His hands and the One who notices even a tiny sparrow falling to the ground. How much more does He care about the obstacles, conundrums and challenges I face. I believe it is a daily choice to continue to look to Jesus and get my eyes off my ‘stuff’ because He tells me not to worry about today because we are far more valuable than anything in the natural realm. Jesus’ exhortation or more correctly instruction to us is to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and the things which we are so often concerned about will fall into place (Matt 6:33).
When I focus on the problems and take my eyes off Jesus, the issues before me take on ‘unholy’ or perhaps even ‘Goliath like’ proportions. In so doing I can all too easily forget if God IS my refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble, therefore I will not fear as the Psalmist said (Psa 46:1-2). It is when I remain focussed on Him and trust Him to lead me through the trial, test or valley and give me the wisdom to know what to do and how to do it, then I WILL overcome. Trust me, I’ve tried it both ways so have some experience in this regard!
The ‘default setting’ for us is to look at the natural circumstances, challenges, obstacles and fret, worry and get anxious about the magnitude of the issue or the immovable nature of this problem. Indeed so often there doesn’t seem to be a way through. However, my Bible says if God is for me then who can be against me (Rom 8:31). He’s the One who parted the Red Sea; He’s the One who calmed the storm; He’s the One who fed 5000 men with 5 loaves 2 fish and there were 12 baskets of leftovers! He’s the One who defeated the enemy armies coming against Israel with the worship team (see 2 Chron 20). He’s the One for whom nothing is impossible! He’s the One who can soften hearts and move mountains – why would we put our trust in anyone or anything else! I love what King Jehoshaphat said when facing certain defeat – “we don’t know what to do but our eyes are upon You!” (2 Chron 20:12)
When you don’t know what to do – keep your eyes on Him because He surely knows the end from the beginning!
So let me encourage you today to lift your gaze heavenward, choose to focus on Him and remind yourself of the promises He’s given you. Choose each day to look only unto Jesus the author and perfecter of your faith. He will complete the good work He began in you until He calls you home or you meet Him in the air when He returns!
Trust and Obey
Obedience isn’t a very popular word these days. However, it is so vital in our Christian walk and I believe essential for long term fruitfulness in our lives. As a (much) younger man, we sang a hymn in church by the same title as this article. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
Obedience is something with which mankind has struggled right from the very beginning of creation. Adam and Eve were given everything to enjoy in the Garden of Eden and there was only one tree in this vast paradise they weren’t to touch. Yet they were unable to obey and we still live with the consequences.
We read in Scripture ‘partial’ obedience is not obedience at all. 1 Sam 15 tells the story of King Saul’s failure to obey the Lord’s commands. He had been told to wipe out the enemy, the Amalekites, but Saul thought it best to keep their king and a few of their choice animals. He further thought it best to offer the sacrifice to the Lord in his impatience in waiting for the prophet Samuel to arrive (who was the only one authorised to do so). On his arrival Samuel said to Saul ‘what have you done and what is that I hear?’ (the bleating of sheep, and the lowing of the oxen). Samuel speaks those famous words to Saul “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam 15:22). Saul thought his definition of obedience, which in today’s language would be ‘near enough is good enough’ was adequate. However, we see from his actions the Lord rejected him as king and from this point onwards, his reign came to an end.
Sometimes the Lord asks us to do things which simply don’t make any sense to us. Obedience though is what is required. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing and only said what He heard the Father saying. Why else would He make mud and put it on a blind man’s eyes? (John 9:6). The disciples obeyed Him when He told them to have the multitude sit in groups of 50 prior to multiplying 5 loaves and 2 small fish which fed the entire crowd with 12 basketfuls of leftovers. (Luke 9:14). This surely made no sense to the disciples but for the miracle to happen they had to obey.
Jesus didn’t have a ‘near enough is good enough’ approach to His ministry. He was obedient even to death on the Cross. The Bible declares “…He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8). That is radical obedience!
After His resurrection, some of the remaining disciples were out fishing, having returned to what they knew best. They’d been fishing all night and caught nothing. Jesus called to them from the shore and asked if they’d caught anything to which they replied “No”. He told them to cast their net on the other side and the catch was so great they couldn’t pull it into the boat. This was the second of two miraculous hauls of fish brought about through obedience!
It's a simple but profound concept – If you want His (Jesus) results you have to do it His way. I read this quote by Randy Clark recently. “My obedience is not conditional on my ability to understand but rather on my willingness to obey.” (The Healing Breakthrough p191).
In praying for the ill and injured there are many mysteries some of which may not be fully understood this side of eternity but if we waited until we have full understanding of why this one is healed and another is not, we would never step out in faith and minister healing to anyone.
Moses was obedient when he struck the rock with a piece of wood and out gushed water to refresh the grumbling Israelites. He was obedient when He reached the Red Sea and was told to “lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel will go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Ex 14:16 NKJV). This would have made no sense whatsoever to Moses with the Egyptian army bearing down on them. Notice the Lord didn’t say to him “I will part the sea for you.” He told Moses to divide the sea – something which Moses had clearly never done before!
We could look at Abraham, Joseph, Gideon, Daniel, Isaiah and many other heroes of the faith and see time and again where obedience brought either breakthrough, a miracle, victory, abundant provision and so on.
Many times in the Healing Rooms, we have seen people healed when we simply obey that which the Holy Spirit is telling us to do – even though on several occasions it may seem more than a little ‘unusual’. If it was good enough for Jesus, then it’s good enough for us! I remember witnessing a young girl in India delivered of a demon when a visiting Pastor, following a prompting of the Holy Spirit, in obedience placed his Bible (the sword of the Spirit) on her head. The girl, who had been screaming violently, with several other Pastors yelling at the demon in a failed attempt to cast it out, which only made things worse and brought more shame and embarrassment to this poor child, was completely calm and in her right mind in about 10-20 seconds.
So let me encourage you to ask the Father what to do in each and every situation in which you find yourself and then step out in obedience and watch heaven come to earth in a powerful way.
Trust and obey for there’s no other way…
How is your highway
A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. Isa 40:3-5
Isaiah was of course speaking of the coming Saviour some 650 years prior to His birth and the message of John the Baptists as he preached in the wilderness a baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
This image of a highway being prepared for the coming King was a metaphor for us preparing our hearts to receive Jesus as Lord and master. The wilderness or desert is of course a place of trial, challenge and obstacles. Life on this earth is not clear of these obstacles or challenges but our faith should not be hindered by them. Instead, we are encouraged to make a straight path for the Lord to enter our hearts by removing the exalted mountains of pride or arrogant thinking and humbling ourselves for His service. We are to make straight paths for those around and about us to enter into a relationship with Him by living a life ‘attractive’ to the kingdom. By this I mean lives which bear witness to the goodness, grace and power of God to others.
The Lord promises to keep in perfect peace, those whose minds are stayed on Him (Isa 26:3) The Hebrew word for ‘perfect peace’ is of course shalom which has within its meaning completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, prosperity, quiet, tranquillity, contentment and friendship with God. It is a far more powerful word than the English word peace.
As we intentionally develop a highway of holiness for the Lord to enter our hearts, we are promised this perfect peace – just dwell on that promise for a few moments.
The righteous are assured of a smooth and level path. “The path of the righteous is level, O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth” (Isa 26:7). Despite obstacles, challenges, twists and turns throughout this life, I believe the Lord will always make a way through these challenges. Looking back over the course of my life, it’s had its share of obstacles, some of which at the time seemed insurmountable, however I can truly testify the Lord has always brought me through to a better place and made a way where there seemed to be no way.
We can’t do anything to earn this righteousness of which the Bible speaks. It is a free gift of grace to those who would invite Jesus into their hearts and surrender Lordship of their life to Him. As has been said if He’s not Lord of all He’s not Lord AT all.
“For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor 5:21 (NKJV)
This lasting and all-pervading peace is promised to those who are humble and whose minds are stayed on Him – literally this means to lean upon, brace oneself, rely on. This promise is assured for those who lean upon His wisdom, grace and strength.