Fire On Your Head

This entry might be well placed in the “classic objections to divine healing” category of my blog. I mean no disrespect to those who suggest, that somehow, in God’s sovereignty, He does things and we don’t know why–and people not getting healed, is in that ‘category’ of God’s character. It is a whole framework of thinking that DOES rightly attribute mysteries to the sovereignty of God’s handiwork, and that He is not obligated to explain Himself to us puny little flesh creatures.

Deuteronomy 29:29, which objectors may or may not realize they’re quoting from, says
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.“

It IS true, that the secret things belong to the Lord, and if He has chosen not to reveal certain things to us, that’s His prerogative. But, does this include divine healing?

Of course not–the “secret things” would include things that God has kept secret, and He has shared abundantly in His Word and by the atonement of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. God doesn’t have some secret Calvinistic ‘will’ either–where you don’t know if He will give you something or not. If He has explicitly promised to give something to His children in The Bible, then doing what He stated as a pre-requisite to receiving it, is necessary in order to receive said promise.

If you’ve never visited this blog before, then you probably don’t know that I’ve been all over the topic of divine healing like a fat kid on a candy bar. So I encourage you for more (way more) study on the subject, to click on the ‘healing’ tag and you will see a plethora of other entries. I’m going to continue this as though the idea God does will all to be healed physically, emotionally, mentally, etc.., is already settled in your mind.

If He has made His will known, then it clearly does NOT apply to the secret things God is talking about in this verse. What secret things is He referring to? We’ll never know–they’re secret and belong to Him!

But, like any good restaurant owner or manager will tell you as being the secret to their success is, the same applies to Scripture – location, location, location. God HAS revealed to us His will concerning healing, in the Bible.

We have Scripture where it details the time the disciples attempted to heal a boy with epilepsy, but to no avail. For more on that I recommend checking it out here. The disciples had previously gone out two-by-two to proclaim and demonstrate the kingdom of God, and now this occasion with this one little boy they were unable to do it. If they had given up there, they never would have seen the healing take place at all, because ultimately Jesus came along and healed the boy Himself.

I think most Christians stop here, sadly.

If the disciples didn’t get Jesus Himself to step in, the healing would have never come, but yet most Christians don’t have the tenacity to go for it even after the first prayer didn’t yield a noticeable result. If you’re like most well-taught evangelicals–or most badly taught charismatics–you’d conclude it must “not be God’s will to heal this time”. But such an approach usually leaves one bitter and wondering how come others have obtained it and not themselves. Such seeming arbitrariness on God’s part would make those who don’t see the healing take place wonder if God is showing favorites and leaving them short. He is not.

Healing is for all. Including you and yours.

In Matthew 17:14-21, we have the account I just mentioned, where Jesus went ahead and performed a healing the disciples were unable to obtain themselves. Then privately they went and asked Jesus why it didn’t work. Now in order for them to ask Him why something didn’t happen, they had to have been expecting it to. And on top of that, if they KNEW why it didn’t work, they wouldn’t have asked Jesus why the healing never manifested! He told them the answer: their lack of faith.

I know that it’s not politically correct to say it or teach it, and I’ve even been told it’s cruel to tell someone they need more faith in order to be healed. I don’t usually tell someone they need more faith unless I give them tips and pointers concerning HOW to have more faith. But seriously folks, we need to get over this “God-does-all-the-work-and-I-just-sit-back-and-let-him-hit-me-with- a-magic-wand-and-take-no-initiative-of-my-own” Yes, God DOES do all the work–on the cross at Calvary 2000 years ago, but we need to position ourselves to receive. Sinners don’t receive the gift of salvation JUST because it’s been offered–they need to receive it [meet the requirements that are pre-requisite, like believing with their heart and confessing with their mouth (Romans 10:9-10) and leaving their old life behind].

And as for the idea it’s cruel to teach someone they need more faith– no it isn’t. But it IS cruel to blame them for not being healed. Those are two different things. Blaming them still withholds from them that which they’re seeking, but telling them something that helps them receive, is a great benefit to people if they do grab hold of it.

I think an even crueler thing is some of the evangelical “God chooses to heal some but not others” doctrines out there. When you tell someone it might be God’s will to heal them, what you’ve done is given them no hope or faith at all that it will or is even likely happen, because most people say to themselves “then I’m probably not one whom God wants to heal.” In order for that doctrine to be true, one then needs to operate in special revelation so as to know when and who God wants to heal!

If the disciples knew their unbelief was in the way of healing the epileptic boy, they would have not needed to ask Jesus about the situation. They would have fixed the problem insomuch as it depended on them.

And finally I’d like to conclude by looking at the context of Deuteronomy 29:29, which is judgment. This is one of the last addresses Moses gave the people of Israel before they were going to enter their promised land after forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The title for this chapter that the Bible translation I read says “The covenant renewed in Moab.” Moses goes on to remind them where they’ve come from and where the Lord promised them they’re going IF they obey the word of the law. Almost more than half of the chapter goes into great detail about what judgment God will bring upon the people of Israel if they turn away from Him, and concludes with the verse we’re using for this entry, that the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed (which, according to context, is the law) to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (emphasis mine).

So frankly put, God’s not withholding anything from His children that would be for their benefit and making Himself a secretive insecure God. This stuff He withholds from us, the secret things, are not related to blessings/curses and rewards/punishment, but refers to details He’s deemed worth not making clear to all of us. To repeat what I’ve said already, healing and whether it’s God’s will to heal any is NOT some secret thing He’s kept from us.

If He will do it for one, He’ll do it for all—he’s not a respecter of persons and doesn’t play favorites.

I’ve been reading through the Old Testament lately, and I couldn’t help but notice something relatively new to me as I read. Ever noticed that whatever the latest thing you’re learning in your walk with Christ, you start seeing EVERYWHERE in the Scriptures, no matter where or what passage you’re reading?

Well, I do.

One of the things I’ve been getting a lot of revelation about, has been a subject I’ve been timid about writing my thoughts publicly on my blog about, but I will go ahead anyway, because this revelation will change a lot of things for those of you reading who WANT to apply it and run with it.

It’s about giving.

I make no apologies for writing this, but it’s for those of you who don’t tithe or give any of your money to the Lord as you should, but spend it on yourself or whatever (which also used to be me years ago…) I’m not yelling or preaching at you, but hopefully you will be provoked by your jealousy to change your attitude about how finances work in the kingdom of God.

This is for those of you wondering what is missing from your life that hinders you from seeing God work miracles in other areas of your life, SUCH as–but not limited to–finances. With personal experience I can assure you, I know what I’m talking about with this subject lately more than ever before. If you’ve been frequenting this blog, you’ve read experiences about money miracles, however after-the-fact they may have been.

Most Christians have got the cart before the horse when it comes to sowing and reaping, giving and receiving, and things like tithing. They pray for God to dump money on them from the sky, but don’t realize they’re looking for harvest they’ve never sown–you can’t reap what you don’t sow–try it sometime in the natural realm and see if it’s not true.

But today we’re not going to be talking about tithing, but hey, if you aren’t even doing that much you don’t even have to worry about any of the following principles working in your life–if you don’t give of the first fruits, you don’t have to even worry about the rest of the crop being made holy as you give to God what is His. I’m moving on to the next step, and assuming readers are already faithful tithers, and realize that NONE of your money is your own, but belongs to Jesus.

In fact, that’s just the thing: when talking to many (and I mean MANY) of my friends and colleagues about tithing and if they do it, I hear all sorts of arguments about why it’s not for today, that it belonged in the OLD testament, and “we are under the law of grace now“. Is that so? How come I never hear people say along with that that since we’re under the law of New Testament grace our righteousness is supposed to exceed that of the Pharisees, and scribes–who were very diligent to make sure they were obeying the law to the letter? Being under grace means more, not less. In fact, I’ve NEVER had a conversation (or an argument ) with anyone who argued tithing ‘not being for today’ from the vantage point of the believer being required to give more–ALL of themselves. I’ve always heard it argued from the vantage point of “minimum requirement” Christianity when it comes to our money.

But this is not going to be on tithing. Everybody already thinks they know everything there is to know on that subject.

“But Steve, I know tithing is Biblical and for today, I just am broke at the moment and in student debt, and I’ll start tithing once I make more money–I promise.”

Unfortunately, you’re to tithe of WHAT you have not “once you start” making a certain amount. Ten per cent of whatever you’ve got, is ten per cent of whatever you’ve got! The Bible talks about if we can be trusted with little, then we will be trusted with much. In fact, everybody seems to quote this and know it’s true. Luke 12:12 says “If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”

The tithe is another person’s– God’s.

Another thing about this “I’ll do it later once something else happens first” attitude about obeying the Gospel, is that trust is never established in saying what one will do in the future once certain conditions come to pass, but in the present and past track record. What I mean to say is, God looks at what you are currently doing in order to determine what He can trust you with, not the other way around–or what you merely say and promise you will do if only such and such happens first. We make plea bargains with God all the time, and He knows there are very few people on the planet who will follow through on their end of the deal, so that’s why He doesn’t bless people financially first in order for them to have money to give. Giving is not based on amounts one has in their possession already to give, but on the heart attitude.

Judgment…

Why are Christians so afraid of admitting that God is a righteous, holy and just God of judgment? Probably because it contradicts the image of the god we’ve fashioned in our own hearts of how we want him to be.

[That’s it—I might as well end this post here, because that sums up my thoughts!]

This going to be a reflective entry, not a Bible study, so forgive me if I don’t quote left and right where I’m gleaning specific Biblical ideas from. If you read your own Bible thoroughly, nothing I say should strike you as made up by myself about God.

As we–the Body of Christ in the Netherlands–enter our Esther year of preparation for the national day of prayer and fasting on 08.08.08, I’ve noticed a common reaction when I describe this to many young people: many are almost embarrassed or ashamed or offended of admitting a quality of God that is true of His character, but isn’t politically correct to acknowledge in any form.

In order to acknowledge the need to pray and fast for a nation, one must acknowledge the reasons why it’s necessary to do so. At the time I shied away from making a public opinion about if things like tsunamis or Hurricane Katrina were acts of God (judgment) since it’s too easy to assume they are. BUT when I read the Bible, I see different catastrophes and calamities as being a way God wakes up or punishes a society, usually out of an attempt to provoke a people to repentance.

So why are most Christians so afraid of admitting it, and a few pious people WAY too excited to zero in on this attribute of God?

Most are scared sinners will turn away from an angry God so we present Him as only loving uncle or grand-dad, and shy away from talking about hell, and from talking about the consequences of sinful lifestyle, and shy away from allowing people to make the connection for themselves that God does things/allows things to happen as an act of mercy—knowing that sometimes the hard smack of hitting rock bottom is the only way some people will turn from their wicked ways and lift their hands up to Him.

Judgment is oftentimes the most merciful thing God could do, like a “last ditch” effort to get someone’s attention. He would rather have a whole nation turn to Him voluntarily, instead of as a reaction when they’ve lost everything and have nowhere to turn to except to Him. He’s not some police officer in the sky seeking attention in order to fulfill some personal insecurity. He loves us, and cares too deeply about His people to allow them to spend eternity in hell.

One of the most common ways judgment is inflicted is through sowing and reaping. This actually is a spiritual law set in motion by our actions or inaction–God leaves it totally up to us in many respects, if you will. This is obvious in matters like if you smoke 5 packs of cigarettes a day, you will “reap” all sorts of things in due time, lung cancer, diseases, pre-mature heart attacks and all sorts of things. This is not an instance of God “inflicting” anything upon someone because He’s mad at them for smoking cigarettes, but the law of sowing and reaping tobacco to his lungs, necessitates that he will reap something, and in this case, deteriorating health if not death itself ultimately.

But sometimes, sowing and reaping is demonstrated in nations and lands, in that the community as a whole has committed so many acts of wickedness and sin, that over time, the land as a whole will ‘reap’ also. For a tremendous Biblical teaching that goes into this even deeper than I will, I strongly suggest the teaching “Healing the Land” by Tommi Femrite on our FIRE Nederland podcast.

But I say this to say that we cannot ignore certain aspects of God’s character just because it doesn’t fit the package of who God is in our minds and in our presentation of Him to the culture around us. Leave God as He is and not package Him in whatever way works best for bringing in the crowds.

Preach The Truth. The way some Christians speak and write on their blogs, you’d figure He has an image problem and needs a PR manager like them to help Him with His image!

God is not politically correct, despite some seeker-sensitive Christians’ desire to present Him as a nice Tooth-fairy Santa Claus that is sad nobody listens to Him and just wants to love people, and condemns nobody. Sometimes the threat of judgment in Scripture lured a whole nation to repentance and lives were spared (Nineveh in the book of Jonah comes to mind). Other times, judgment was threatened out of God’s desire to lure his Bride Israel back to Himself from whoring after other lovers. If God were a TRUE and righteous God, He HAS to make good on His promises, including the curses, not just the blessings. In fact, many times in Scripture like Deuteronomy 28, more detail is given to describing curses that would come for disobedience than is spent giving time to describing blessings that come from obedience. God does not just promise “your best life now” like some mega-church pastors preach and write, and then go on Larry King and can’t answer a simple straightforward question like “is Jesus Christ really the only way to heaven“. We’re too afraid of implying or saying anyone is on their way to hell, but that is precisely the reason we must proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ and the coming day of judgment.

I’ve heard it said desire for change alone is not enough to motivate many people to change. But desire to change and unbearable pain combined usually does the trick. Let’s face it: many people learn lessons in life the hard way!

I was describing recently to a group of Christian college students how desperate of a situation this nation of Holland is in, and WHY a national day of prayer and fasting is of utmost importance and necessary, and that God is birthing this in the hearts of many church leaders across the nation. They know, that this nation has fulfilled more than it’s share of the ‘wrath cup’, and given that we are below sea level, a Katrina-like disaster is not far-fetched…

…if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Many Christians can quote this verse and even know where it is in the Bible, but how many of us take the time to realize it is the second part of a sentence, and bother to read the paragraphs leading up to it, or keep reading afterwards? Let’s look at the whole thing:

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel.’

“But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

2 Chronicles 7:13-22 E.S.V., emphasis mine

Funny how this WHOLE thing is not a popular passage of Scripture to preach on every Sunday morning. Whenever a natural disaster happens in a city known for blatant and public sin, if a minister of the Gospel got up and quoted this verse without citing the reference, he’d be (and has been) condemned by most of the modern evangelical and charismatic community, and almost all of society. But deep down inside we all know better, but don’t want to admit it.

We all know that if it weren’t for the grace God and the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ, God would leave us to the consequences of our sin, in an eternal punishment of hellfire. How come this truth is not as popular as preaching on tithing or sowing to receive your hundredfold return?

Be very aware–God will hold the Church accountable for all she allowed to happen in her nation of influence. The watchmen who see the sword coming on the land but do not warn its inhabitants, the Lord requires their blood at the watchman’s hand (Ezekiel 33:6)

When people are spending their eternity in hell, they won’t be so happy with you in that day for not offending them in their lifetime, and not ruffling any of their feathers. People appreciate warnings to avoid crossing a street if they don’t notice a truck is about to hit them–you don’t gently say “sweetheart get off the road.” Better to have people offended with you now and rattled a little bit but have heard the truth that has power to saved them from the wrath of God and set them free from the bondage of their sin, and forgive them and empower them to live this life free from it. Better that than to have them live how they want but thought that praying a prayer and going through ‘4 spiritual laws’ and checking yes to all the right questions but going on living the same way as before and “really believing in their heart” was all it took to be a Christian, void of any demonstration of repentance. At least when the people of Noah’s day drowned in the flood and tried one last time to claw their way into the ark, they KNEW already what they were facing because they’d been warned many times for many years.

Let’s not have the blood of a nation on our hands, no matter how much against the grain such a message may be.