7/10/2008

Our job is to Believe

I love Wednesday night church and I love our Pastor, Brother David Jett. This past Wednesday night he preached a sermon that revolutionized my way of thinking about healing. Here's the statement that stopped me cold (paraphrasing because I can't remember exactly): "We believe that Jesus can forgive our sins and and save us, but we don't believe that He can heal us". Jesus addressed this issue of belief in the 9th book of Matthew:

1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

As the service came to a close, the Pastor asked Holly and Graceyn to come down to the altar. Many church members came together believing and asking for healing for them. Brother David reminded us that we pray for God's Kingdom here on Earth, because in His Kingdom, there is no sickness, no wheelchairs, no death.

I sat in my seat, thinking, "Really God? Can you really do this? Okay, I know that you CAN do this, but WILL you?"

God reminded me of a passage in scripture that I've always had a hard time understanding, but recently had some light shown on it in Mark 8:

22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"

24He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."

25Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Why did it take more than one time for Jesus to heal the man? Why wasn't it instantaneous? Jesus was trying to show His disciples that sometimes it's a process. God will be glorified in all that He does. So sometimes if His answer doesn't come quickly, even when we're desperate, we know that God's doing a work in us. He's not just taking His time for the sake of making us wait. Our lives are like a big tapestry, on the one side it's beautiful (how God sees it all) on the other side, it looks all crazy and jacked up (how we see it all). God's making us beautiful.

Another reason healing or answers don't always come quickly is from another passage in scripture, found in Daniel 10 :

1
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. 3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. 6 His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

12 Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."


Daniel was desperate and crying out on behalf of his people after God had given him a vision about their fate. He had humbled himself to God by praying and fasting and yet he had not received an answer. Brother David taught us in an earlier sermon that sometimes our prayers are intercepted by the enemy (in this verse, the "Persian kingdom" aka Satan and his crew). It took 21 days for this angel and another angel, Michael, to fight off the attack from "the king of Persia". And although God is all-powerful and all-mighty, and he could have totally destroyed the enemy at any time and will destroy the enemy.... how much more was he glorified through Daniel's prayer, fasting, and finally, meeting with an angel of the Lord who would answer David's prayer?

I leave you with a final thought: "It's our job to believe in God. It's His job to work the miracle".


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