Healing

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

God is love. By the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we all have a chance to come to God, to be saved. He gives us the power to live a holy life. He sanctifies us and fills us with his Holy Spirit. If that was all he ever did, we could never thank him enough.

But he went above and and beyond even that. God is under no obligation to heal us, but he chooses to heal us. I have seen many Super natural physical healings in my lifetime, and have heard of many more. Some people believe God has stopped healing people, but I know for a fact this is untrue.

In the name of Jesus and through the power of HIS name, I have seen backs healed, legs healed. I have seen cancer healed, seen chronic heart failures healed, heart attacks healed. I have seen headaches healed, earaches healed, aching feet healed, and I have even had a rather painful wart healed, nothing is impossible for God.

Nothing is too big and hard for God to heal. Nothing is too small and insignificant for God to heal. He loves us. He loves us enough to die for us. And he loves enough to allow himself to be wounded to heal us.

Leadership

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up...” Ephesians 4:11-12

God appoints people to different leadership positions in his church in order to teach and help discipline those who have come to know him as their Lord and Savior. The leadership positions are each a little bit different from each other, but all ultimately are there to help teach others the truth about who God is, how he wants us to act, and how to best live our lives for him.

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. James 3:1

People in leadership positions in the church, whose job it is to teach others about God and his will for our lives, are held to a higher standard than for others. Why would those in a leadership position in the Church be judged more strictly? Because it is their job to teach others what God wants. If they teach falsely, not only they will be led astray, but all who hear them is in danger of being led astray.

They are also judged more harshly because the leaders of the church are being watched by both Christians and non-Christians alike in order to see what a servant of God should be like. If a person in leadership position falls into sin, it can cause a stumbling block to the people he is leading, and make the Gospel look worthless to the non-Christians who see the sin.

Being in a leadership position is a great responsibility, but if God calls you to the position, he will give you the ability to see it through, and you will never be happier than when you are fulfilling God's purpose for your life.

Tell the World

He [Jesus] said unto them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. So why is this necessary? Where you are born is often the reason for your religion. Jesus knew that this was a faulty system that would leave people alienated from learning more about God. He gave the command to go into all the world and preach because all the world needs Jesus. No matter what your religion, we all need Jesus. For Jesus said, no man can come to Father but by me. 

Christians have a responsibility to let everyone know the good news about how Jesus has come to forgive us of our sins. We need to go into the world and tell them that they do not have to live in sin, despair, and hopelessness. 

All of us can spread the good news about Jesus. It does not matter if you did not go to seminary, or haven't memorized the Romans Road. We can start by sharing our own personal testimony. What has God done for us? He has saved us, redeemed us, healed us, given us hope.

So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:7

No one can be saved unless they have faith. Our faith is increased by hearing the word of Christ, and to hear the word, someone must speak it. Who else will speak it if not the ones who have already believed it? There is no one else. God has given us so much, it should be only natural to us to share that gift with the people around us.

Sanctification

May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Sanctify: To set apart or declare holy; consecrate.

When we repent of our sins and turn to God in humbleness and confess him as our Lord and Savior, he then sets us apart from the world around us, cleanses away all of our sins, declares us as his holy people, and consecrates us unto himself. Through his Grace, we are now declared pure and righteous, not because of anything we have done, but because God cloaks us with his purity, his righteousness.

So now what? Do we just go on about our lives, living as we please, and when we sin—we are only human, after all—we cry and say sorry God, give me a little more grace, so I can go on with my life. No! Some people may think that all you have to do is say a little prayer and go on, but after we have agreed to let God consecrate us and set us apart for Himself, which is what we are doing when we pray the prayer of Salvation, we are expected to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God.

God knows we are not perfect. He knows that we will fall short of holiness. But that doesn't mean he does not expect us to try. God's grace is not a band-aid to cover up our sin. God's grace gives us the power to live a life of sanctification. When we try our hardest to live a life of holiness, and we fall short, God's grace will make up the difference. He will forgive us and help us to try again. But he is not pleased when we live selfishly, indulging in sin and refusing to even try to live for God. 

We as Christians are sanctified by God, set apart from the world in order to be his holy people. It's time we started to act like it.

What is the Gift of Tongues

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts 2:4

One of the earliest and most easily apparent signs that God has filled you with his Holy Spirit is the evidence of speaking in tongues. Quite literally, you begin to speak in a language that you have not learned, praying to God with words you do not understand. 

Of all the signs God could have used to show the infilling of his Spirit into a person, this might seem like a strange choice. Why on earth would you want to pray in a language you don't know and say things to God that you yourself do not understand? It sounds strange, foreign, even frightening, to have the words of your own mouth be something beyond your own understanding. But personally I believe that is exactly the point.

This isn't something that is faked, nor something that you can learn to do by yourself. Sure, someone might be able to spout random gibberish—except speaking in tongues isn't gibberish, and people who speak multiple languages can confirm this. I have heard of a man who prayed in tongues during a church service, and after the service a visitor told him that he was not only speaking Mandarin Chinese, but he had called out to God for a Chinese Christian man, by name, praying that God would give him the strength he needed to make it through the tribulations he was going to face soon.

The man who was praying did not know how to speak Chinese. He didn't know anybody in China. He certainly didn't know anyone in China who was about to go through a particularly hard time and would need prayer. But because he was filled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he didn't need to know. The Spirit let him know that he needed to pray, and then the Spirit Himself gave him the very words that he needed in order to do so! 

Speaking in tongues is not some mystical mumbo jumbo that some man made up to make certain people seem better or more spiritual than others. It is not some Satanic rite, nor is it something that is outdated and unneeded in this day and age. It is completely submitting your voice and your will to God, so that He can use them for His glory, and in doing so, bless both you and the people around you!

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:1-2

We have learned about the baptism of repentance. We have learned about water baptism. There is one more: the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is a baptism that is above and beyond the baptism of repentance. You can be saved, but not filled with the Holy Spirit. But you cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit if you are not saved.

John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Luke 3:16

When you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, God fills you with the power to be his witnesses. You have the power to overcome the temptation to sin, power to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. 

The Bible tells us the story of Peter. He was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, who followed him, learning from him, and even preaching and healing in His name, since the beginning of his ministry here on earth. Peter swore he would follow Jesus to the death, yet, when the time came, he denied even knowing Jesus three times out of fear that they would kill him too. But after Jesus' resurrection, after Peter was baptized with the Holy Spirit, he not only had the courage to proclaim that Jesus is Lord to multitudes of people, he was willing and able to face imprisonment, torture, and even death to do so.

God will never ask us to do something that he is not willing or able to give us the ability to do. If you feel inadequate to do the work God has called you to do, ask Him to give you a greater infilling of his Spirit, the power to do the work.

Remembrance

“And when he had given thanks, he broke it [bread] and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

Remembering is important. We remember nearly everything that happens to us, if only vaguely. But though sometimes our memories can be blurred, we always take care to remember things that are important to us. Things that mean something to us are not easily forgotten. Things that we consider mundane or unimportant—like what we had for supper three weeks ago last Tuesday—are much more likely to be forgotten than memories of weddings, for example. 

A lot of times, things can help us remember. A song that comes on the radio can remind you of the first date you had with your spouse. Someone commenting on something they learned about history can remind you of how you studied that same thing for an upcoming test months ago. They can even help us remember things that we normally wouldn't think of. For example, that supper that you have trouble remembering...seeing a spatula might remind you of what you cooked and how you cooked it. 

When Jesus was partaking of the Last Supper that he ever had before his Crucifixion, he took some ordinary items that he had on hand, bread and wine, and charged his disciples to remember him. There was nothing magical or mystical about the bread or the wine. It was just there. But Jesus also used it in order to help us remember why he had come, and why he would allow others to take away his life.

He broke the bread to show that his body would be broken. He poured the wine to show how his blood would be poured out. Just as he broke the bread and poured the wine for others to partake of, so too he allowed his body to be broken and his blood be spilled for others. For us, and our redemption! For our salvation! For forgiveness of our sins! Let me tell you this: Jesus did not have to die. He knew he did not necessarily have to die. But he also chose to die, not because he enjoyed the thought of death, but because it was the only way to save us. We have all sinned, and the punishment of sin is death. Jesus had not sinned, so he did not have to die. But he decided that he would take our punishment, so that we could be redeemed, not because of our own righteousness, but because of his righteousness.

Something like that, needs to be remembered. If you are a Christian, the next time you take Holy Communion, remember it is not some trite ritual that has no meaning other than to prove how spiritual you are. It is remembering the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and how he gave himself completely and entirely, just to save you!