As this New Year begins, it is important to make certain of your salvation. Yes, many have certainty based on the teaching of the church they attend but what have you actually been saved into? Are you sure the blood of the lamb has saved you? 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. 13 With minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” Your eternal destination, heaven or hell depends on that certainty. Peter also said, 2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Many people believe in the doctrine of election but if that was the case you could just ignore the message Peter gives in this chapter. As he said earlier, 2 Peter 1:3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” If you were elected, as some teach, you would have no worry of stumbling and missing out on the rich welcome into the eternal kingdom. Peter also warned us about 2 Peter 2:1 “false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” Peter then goes to say, 2 Peter 3:17 “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.” Our security comes from fearing God and obeying His word, not from the teaching of the lawless. It is imperative that you know the difference between the truth of God’s word and the error of the lawless. Paul said Philippians 2:12 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Our salvation depends on us fearing God and trembling before Him. Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Isaiah 66:2 “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.” Isaiah 57:15 “For this is what the high and exalted One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit.”
Many have based the security of their salvation on the errors of lawless men and remain insecure and most do not even know it. Of course people want to believe they are secure and have nothing to fear. They have been told because they go to a certain church and have adhered to the teaching and direction of that church, they would spend eternity with God. The truth is that without fearing God and obeying His word, the lack of knowledge will not lead to eternal life but eternal damnation. In their false sense of security, people refuse to repent because they do not think they need to. They do not seek God as they should nor do they seek the power He gave to the church as is clearly seen in the Gospels and Acts. They also do not test the spirits as we were warned to do. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” The problem is that most in the church think they are walking with Jesus and abiding by His teaching, yet the church looks nothing like Him nor sounds like His voice.
One of the songs I grew up singing in the church was called, “I Serve a Risen Savior.” The lyrics of the chorus said, “He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.” If you are going to sing this, you had better be sure Jesus does live in your heart. This was a powerful song that stirred the emotions, but were the words really true in the lives who sang it? If asked, I am sure that most would say it was true but are they sure? Just because a song like this one is powerful, doesn’t mean that God feels the same way you do, because if the church is not obeying and following His word, then God says Amos 5:21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. 23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” As I said before, the church does not act as if Jesus is alive, but goes about its ways as if Jesus is just an old, old story that really doesn’t apply to today, as most do not believe His words to be true for today but only for the time of the early church. The stories became mythology that are talked about over and over but not wholly believed.
The part I want to focus on today is the question as to whether Jesus is actually walking and talking with you on the narrow way? Are you sure you are actually walking on the narrow way? Just because someone told you it is narrow, doesn’t mean that it is narrow. Are you sure you are actually following the right Jesus? 2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” The true Jesus not only redeems us but also heals our diseases. Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
This is an account of two people who believed in Jesus while the rest crowded around him and walked with Him. The first account is Jairus who had come to plead with Jesus to heal his daughter and the second account is a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years with no cure in sight. Mark 5:21 “When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ 32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe. 37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.”
As the passage indicates, there is a crowd that was pressed around Him as they walked with Him. In that crowd you had two people who believed that if they approached Jesus and even touched him, healing would come. The first who believed was Jairus. His daughter was deathly ill. Obviously nothing could be done and this man was desperate. This man believed that Jesus just had to put His hand on his daughter and she would live. Another man believed that Jesus just had to say the word. Matthew 8:8 “The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” On His way to heal Jairus’s daughter, a woman of great faith approached Jesus and believed all she had to do was touch the cloak of Jesus and she would be healed. She touched Jesus and was immediately healed. Notice that not only was she healed, it was immediate; the same happened with the daughter of Jairus. She was dead and immediately she was alive. Notice the doctors could do nothing for her but Jesus did not pray for the doctors as many pray today but healed a woman they could not.
In both these cases there was doubt; not by the two who sought healing but by those around Jesus, even His disciples. When Jesus asked who touched me, the disciples share their own thoughts and said, “You see the people crowding against you and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” When Jesus went to heal Jairus‘s daughter and said she is not dead, they all laughed at Him. Yes the girl had died and yes Jesus raised her from the dead, even though he said she was just sleeping. These two people had great faith. As Jesus said had about the centurion, Matthew 8:10 “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
Here is the problem the church is facing when it comes to faith. I have heard people say if they just had more faith, healing would have come. This is usually said by those to cover up when healing doesn’t occur. Instead of repenting, these leaders blame the sick person for their lack of faith. The real reason healing doesn’t come is because the church is desolate due to rebellion and that rebellion has caused God to turn His face from the church. It doesn’t mean that healing cannot occur once again. The church carries on as if everything is how it should be, and refuses to repent and turn from wicked ways, thus remaining desolate and powerless and does not do as Jesus did. There is no power and authority to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. The church is supposed to believe Jesus is the Messiah. When asked by John’s disciples if Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus answered, Matthew 11:4 “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” The church cannot say this.
This is why it is so important to answer the question are you sure you have been redeemed? Most people will answer yes they are sure but at the same time they are just part of the masses who think they are walking and talking with Jesus. They think they are on the narrow way but instead are heading towards the wide gate and many have already passed through it and it is too late. Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus also said when Luke 13:23 “someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’” The masses are not looking for the narrow way but instead are joyfully heading down the wide way. They are not even looking for anything narrower (does not mean legalism or fundamentalism) nor do they feel they have to, even though Jesus said there is only one way. John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” They think that because they said with their mouth that Jesus is Lord they are saved. Yes Romans states, Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” It is both confession and belief. Jesus also describes the church when he said Mark 7:6 “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” Not only do we declare with our lips but also with our heart. God is not looking for lip service.
Cancer and heart disease are the leading cause of death in Canada and the world. The church not only is filled with actual heart disease, cancer and other diseases, the church has a heart problem and the enemy prevails like a cancer, yet people carry on as if all this sickness and disease is how it is supposed to be. Remember the church says it believes Jesus is alive, therefore he is supposed to heal our infirmities and diseases but that is not what is happening. This is what is supposed to be happening. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.”
This is not happening because there is a heart problem and God is looking at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Most people will look at a worship service and see people praising God, but God looks and says their hearts are far from Him. Too many people are just part of the crowd that is around Jesus and even walking with Him, but few are reaching out to touch Him or kneel before Him begging for mercy. Very few will wait for Him to turn His face back to us. Yes, when someone is sick they cry out to God but their hearts do not change. Every Sunday the masses gather but remain unchanged. God doesn’t just look at your lips moving but looks at your heart. It is important to read this along with Romans 10. Jesus said Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” It doesn’t matter if you ate and drank with the masses; Jesus is going to say I don’t know you.
Christianity is much more than just walking with the masses. It is about obeying God’s word and believing God’s word. Even though at this point God has turned His face from the church, we have this same hope. Isaiah 57:16 “I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me—the very people I have created. 17 I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. 18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, 19 creating praise on their lips. Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.” Ezekiel 39:25 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26 They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 28 Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. 29 I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Isaiah 30:19 “People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
We must return to God’s word and believe so that we can walk in that way. Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” Psalm 119:1 “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. 2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart—3 they do no wrong but follow his ways.” The reason the church is not seeing signs and wonders, miracles and healings or demons cast out, is because the church is not walking in the way of truth. Isaiah describes this. Isaiah 65:2 “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—3 a people who continually provoke me to my very face.” The church rejected the power of God and replaced His power with the strength of their own hands which is useless against are enemies but stubbornly the church continues going in their own way. Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; 2 who go down to Egypt without consulting me. 9 For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction. 10 They say to the seers, “See no more visions!” and to the prophets, “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” 15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
That last verse should give you great hope if you are waiting for God to turn His face back to us. If you have faith that God will once again give His disciples power and authority to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons, then wait and pray that God will turn His face back to His church and don’t give up. The good news is Isaiah also said Isaiah 54:7 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. 8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord your Redeemer.” In that crowd of people there were two who reached out to Jesus and believed. How many people have been given the diagnosis that there is nothing they can do like the woman. How many people have lost loved ones like Jairus. Not only is the church filled with the sick, the world is too, but where is the power of the church. We recently once again saw the powerless church exposed when Covid struck the world. This passage describes the power that should be available. James 5:13 “Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Do you believe what the word of God says or do you believe what someone says the word of God doesn’t say? The church spends more time trying to disprove what the bible says rather than believing what it says which is why there are so few workers being sent out in power. Matthew 9:35 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Jesus healed every disease and sickness. Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” The workers were supposed to be doing what Jesus did. John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” What then is the church doing other than gathering in crowds?
Over time the church has gotten really good at gathering. Most people believe that if the go to church, all is well with their soul. The church became a place of entertainment to keep the masses coming. People would gather and leave week after week, year after year but where is the power? If there is no power, there is no salvation. I took a quick peek at all the diseases there are in the world and it is astounding with many that are deemed incurable. We can’t even cure the common cold. One writer said, “there’s no remedy for the lowly cold. That’s not for lack of trying, though. The hunt for a cure for the common cold began in the 1950s, shortly after scientists discovered the primary group of pathogens—known as rhinoviruses—behind the sniffles. Together it accounts for up to 75 percent of colds in adults. But scientists quickly ran into an issue that still stymies researchers today, says Peter Barlow, an immunologist at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland who is working on a cure for the cold. “The main challenge with rhinovirus is the number of circulating strains,” he says. There’s at least 160 different strains, or serotypes, of rhinovirus, Barlow says. That means cracking the cold isn’t so much looking for one solution to one problem as it is trying to design a master key to open hundreds of different locks at once. “It’s incredibly difficult to create a vaccine or drug that will target all of those 160 [strains].” There is one solution but most refuse to bow before the Lord God Almighty.
God said when they were to take the land, Deuteronomy 7:11 “Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today. 12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. 13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young. 15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you.” Deuteronomy 28:15 “if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: 20 The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. 21 The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 27 The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.” Look at the rise of mental illness across the country. Instead of repenting, the church just carries on as if all these diseases and sickness are just part of life. People attend church to worship Jesus and every year celebrates Easter but don’t actually believe there is power available to heal the sick and cast out demons.
Jesus preached the good news, healed the sick and cast out demons. This was the Gospel. 1 John 3:8 “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” The church was to continue in this work. Here we see why. Luke 13:10 “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.” The synagogue leader opposed this healing because it was done on the Sabbath. Jesus responds, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” Do you really believe this is not happening today? These people need to be healed just like this woman was healed from her infirmity. That was all part of the gospel. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” After Jesus called His disciples and empowered them, Luke 9:6 “they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.” Mark 6:12 “They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Because the church rebelled against God, God turned His face from the church and the church was powerless and could not do as Jesus did, even though that is what we are called to do.
The power is still available even though most in the church do not believe it is or understand that it is. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available just as it was when Jesus was walking amongst the masses. Paul prayed that we would understand this power that is available to all believers. Ephesians 1:17 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” God gave us gifts that included this power. 1 Corinthians 12:7 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” 1 Corinthians 14:1 “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” Do you believe these gifts are available? Ask yourself if you actually believe this woman could be healed today or this daughter raised from the dead today, or a leper healed, cancer healed, hearts restored and on and on the list of diseases could go. Do you believe this was not only done by Jesus, but also by His disciples? Are you His disciple? Do you believe as scripture states that God gives gifts of healing to His disciples? Do you believe healing can happen instantly? Or does your belief involve a doctor and time? 2 Chronicles 16:12 “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians.”
Because so many prayers have gone unanswered, the church has just adapted to sickness and disease as part of life. It is part of our life because the church refuses to repent and turn from wicked ways even though we are told 1 Chronicles 7:13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The church is desolate so we need to humble ourselves before God and submit to Him. James 4:6 “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” 1 Peter 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
Does your belief accept disease and demons as just part of life? Because the church refuses to repent, the problem is still the same as when Isaiah said Isaiah 1:15 “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” Don’t be content with how things are in the church; repent. Isaiah goes on to say, Isaiah 1:16 “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 8 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”
The masses are content walking alongside Jesus but never reaching out to touch him or bow before Him or begging for someone to be brought back from the dead because they believed that Jesus could. A man had a boy with an impure spirit and he said to Jesus, Mark 9:22 “if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.” If we are to walk with Jesus, there is only one way, the way of holiness. Isaiah 35:8 “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it. 9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and those the Lord has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” As we read in Peter, “Be holy, because I am holy.” You can’t be holy unless you believe God’s word.
The church doesn’t have a talking problem but a heart problem. Paul said 1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” In the church there is lots of talk but no power. There are lots of books written in the church but no power but with Jesus John 21:25 “if every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” There is lots of honor from the lips but hearts are far from God, thus there is no power. The church needs a new heart. Daniel prayed as we aught to pray, Daniel 9:4 “I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.” As we know God honoured his word spoken by Jeremiah and the people returned to their land. Ezekiel 36:22 ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes. 24 “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. 32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign Lord. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, people of Israel! 33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’”
If you are part of the masses, repent and live. Make sure of your salvation before it is too late. If you believe God’s word and are waiting, do not give up. Jeremiah 31:16 “This is what the Lord says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the Lord. “They will return from the land of the enemy. 17 So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the Lord. “Your children will return to their own land.” Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
