It’s been a while since I’ve written or posted anything about my favorite Bible doctrine or topic; divine healing. I’ve written quite a bit on the subject on both my blog, and Fire Press, and have taught this to seminary students in South America, and most importantly, put I’ve into practice what I preach and have hit the streets looking for people who’d let me pray for them and share the Gospel.

By no means do I count myself an expert, because frankly, the whole Body of Christ should be manifesting His presence, and seeing people healed, set free, delivered, saved, whatever term you want to use–it encompasses the whole person–not just some special “healing experts”.

That all being said, I feel I could summarize the most common misconceptions and hindrances people have regarding God’s will to heal them, and I present to you the following in no particular order.  First, though, allow me to say that in no way am I trying to be insensitive if you’re reading this and are sick yourself, know someone who is, or have lost a loved one.  The following post does not address every single point in detail that it could, but I believe browsing the appropriate links to further study on many of the following points will greatly enrich the reader and encourage them in regard to faith and healing.

1. “I’m Not Good Enough”

And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all. (Luke 6:17-19 English Standard Version, emphasis mine)

Everybody was healed. In a crowd of this magnitude, it’s more than certain there would be people of all stages of life represented, but yet everybody got the exact same result: healed in their body.

2. “God is Working On My Character”

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom andhealing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. (Matthew 4:23-25, ESV, emphasis mine)

This passage very closely mirrors the one selected to refute lie number 1 above, however, in contradiction to the lie that God uses sickness and disease to refine our character–because of erroneously quoted, misinterpreted and mis-taught passages of Scripture used as a proof texts–it should be noted that in this crowd of “all being healed”, there were demon possessed people–who probably had room for improvement as far as their character goes! These individuals did not get healed only after their character was healed, but immediately.

For more on that, check out the Fire On Your Head Podcast episode, Developing Supernatural Expectancy.

3. “God is Teaching Me A Lesson”

I’m aware that I’m making a generality in saying the following, and it’s not true of everybody, but common enough to state that I’ve seen many people point to Paul’s thorn in the flesh as some kind of proof text regarding this lie. Since I’ve done an extensive, but concise study on it, I’m not going to elaborate too thoroughly on this point, other than to post yet another passage of Jesus healing everybody, not just the ones that had learned all the lessons they needed:

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.(Matthew 9:35, emphasis mine)

It’s highly likely, since everybody was getting healed in these cities and villages, again, that people of all stages and walks of life would have been represented and therefore some being taught lessons in some ways in their lives, which excluded sickness and illness being some kind of method God was using. If God was teaching people lessons using sickness, then Jesus was contradicting or even rebelling against God’s plans for these people by healing them. But we know Jesus did what He saw the Father doing.

4. “It’s Not God’s Time”

When IS God’s time? This also sounds pious and religious, but is usually invented by people who are seeking a healing in their body but haven’t obtained it, or gave up before receiving the miracle. Nowhere in Scripture do we find that God withholds the healing until a certain vague and nebulous time. Healing is a part of the atonement on the cross, and if today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2), then today is also the day for healing (salvation of a physical body).

But in the meantime, notice that Jesus in his ministry healed people spontaneously in Matthew 14:14, where it says

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Notice it was compassion that caused him to heal the sick when he came across them here, not timing.

Also, recall with me the passage of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda in John’s Gospel,

In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. (John 5:3-4, NKJV)

Note:

• This passage proves that God did not determine who got healed, when they got healed or of what they got healed from.
• This proves God does not dictate the time of a person’s healing
• This also proves that God did not determine that some people should keep their illness until they had learned something (There goes the “I’m sick because God’s trying to teach me a lesson” lie).
• This also proves that God does not will some to be healed and for others to stay sick (There goes the “It’s not God’s will to heal everybody” doctrine).
  
• Notice that there is no mention of repentance from sin. This story proves that the Passover (Jesus) is our total freedom from sickness and disease.

For more on healing in the Atonement, check out this article by Joel Crumpton on Fire Press called Healing For The Follower of Jesus – Why and When?

5. “Sickness Is How We Die”

I wish to be respectful of any who are reading this and may have lost a loved one to cancer or terminal disease. It may be fact that it has happened, and nothing can be done now, and you may struggle with my saying this, but it was NOT God’s best intention for them–especially if they weren’t a believer! It’s the enemy (Satan) who seeks to steal, kill and destroy. For a brief yet thorough study on this, check out my post “Death and Healing“. In it, I tackle another lie I could have posted in this list that says “if healing is always God’s will, then we’d never die.”  I encourage the reader to give it a look, because my synopsis was yes, we WILL die one day, the same way a car wears out and eventually a new one is needed. But that doesn’t mean we blow the car up one day and then decide to buy a new one.  I stated in it:

When Adam and Eve were punished for their disobedience, God says in Genesis 3:22:

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever–” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken…

Consider this: In order for God to banish them so that they won’t eat of the tree of life and live forever, it implies they were not going to live forever unless they ate it. This was AFTER they sinned and were now in a fallen state…

God refusing to allow Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of life now that they are corrupt and defiled, was an act of his mercy—He didn’t want man living forever in their sinful flesh, and in a fallen world. That, would be hell. Hell is eternity in sin cut off from the Lord, and if Adam ate of the fruit from the tree of life, it would not have been much better than an eternity in hell will be.1

Also, consider the meaning of the Greek word “Sozo”: to save; to preserve from harm; to keep; to rescue. Sin and sickness are both forms of death, and Jesus delivers and saves from both. The same way one woman’s faith forgave her of her sins (Luke 7:50), another woman’s faith healed her of her issue of blood (Luke 8:48). A few verses after the latter, in Luke 8:50, Jesus tells Jairus, to not fear but only believe, and his daughter will be made well (sozo). This turned out to be a dead-raising, not a healing, so to speak, but the same concept is applied and the same word is used throughout the New Testament.

Also take a look at the following Old Testament passage;

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6, NIV, emphasis mine)

Notice the interchanging of both being healed and being forgiven, by what happened to Christ on the cross. Nobody would ever say “sin is how we die” or “God is putting sin on us to teach us a lesson“. Why not? Because God saved us from the power of sin, therefore He wouldn’t put on us something he set us free from. The same goes for healing then, in the human body.

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins“—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home. (Mark 2:9-11, ESV, emphasis mine)

Notice, to demonstrate Jesus could forgive sins, he healed the man’s body with a word.

It is true that some do, and have died from sicknesses and diseases, but that doesn’t mean it was God’s will or how he wanted to take them home. The enemy comes specifically to steal and kill and destroy but Christ has have come that we may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

For more on this point, check out my post “If Healing is Provided For In The Atonement, Then…“

6. Not Enough Faith

Usually the person saying this is referring to themselves, yet, Jesus healed people whether they had faith to be healed or not. The only time throughout the New Testament Jesus ever told anybody they didn’t have enough faith was his disciples–the healers.

I realize my post today has more links than a Polish sausage factory, but it’s just to point you to the right place for further study on some points in particular. So that being said, check out this post “Because of Whose Little Faith“, a little more in depth than some of the other ones I’ve linked to so far, but still worth it.

In a nutshell, I say in it that Jesus rebuked the healers, not the recipients for their faith.

7. “I Don’t Believe In Jesus”

There’s an anecdotal story many people share about how John G. Lake was sitting in his office one time and a man came in and spoke to him about some conditions he had and asked if he could pray for him to be healed. Lake agreed, and the man told him something to the effect of “you must know though, I don’t have faith to be healed”, and he pushed his chair back and got up and said “that’s OK, I’ve got enough for the both of us!”

It’s not known whether or not the man was an atheist, didn’t believe in Jesus, or was a Christian but didn’t believe he’d get healed, but presumably, the story concludes with Lake praying for the man and he gets healed.

In Scripture, we’ve got lots of accounts we could glean from, such as people getting lowered into the pool of Bethesda in John 5 like we mentioned in an earlier point–remember, it didn’t say whoever believed in God or Jesus got healed, but the first one to get in when the angel was stirring up the waters got healed (see John 5:4-5)

8. “I didn’t get healed the first time I prayed, so it must not be God’s will to heal me”

As I stated in my post, Because of Whose Little Faith, linked to in Lie # 6, we see how in Matthew 17:14-21, the disciples were unable to heal a boy with epilepsy, and then Jesus goes ahead and prays for the boy, and he’s healed instantly. This passage also shows that just because healing didn’t happen, doesn’t mean it was God’s will for someone to stay sick. His desire to heal is not always demonstrated properly just because of our inabilities to accomplish what He has ordained and authorized us to do.

Take note also of the following account:

And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesuslaid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:23-25, ESV emphasis mine)

Notice, Jesus, who was God Himself, but didn’t live on the earth as though he were God, but as a human man (see Philippians 2:6-8). God in man, Christ even prayed more than once for someone to be healed before they obtained it. My personal experience is more like this than instantaneous healing, in that often times I pray several times for someone, or have had to persist for quite some time in praying for someone to be healed. Instead of making a ninth point, we could also include in this the idea that healing is not instantaneous like people believe, but requires perseverance sometimes.

Other resources to build yourself up further in your faith and receive healing:

• Episodes of our Fire On Your Head Podcast that are tagged as being about healing.

A personal teaching class from yours truly regarding faith and healing:

Download this episode (right click and save)

Steve Bremner is a missionary to Peru, called to raise up disciples who flow in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is general editor of Fire Press, and also produces & co-hosts its podcast called Fire On Your Head. Visit his personal site at http://stevebremner.com 

1. See http://www.fireonyourhead.org/2009/03/16/death-healing/

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mat 28:16-20

Oxford American Dictionary explains “commission” as “a group of people officially charged with a particular function” and “the authority to perform a task or certain duties.” I’d say we have done quiet well with the first part of the commission. We have gone to the nations, discipled them, baptized them, and taught them everything Jesus taught us. But I think for various reasons we have skipped the second part – how we were actually supposed to go and disciple the nations, baptize and teach them.

I have 2 questions I’d like to answer:

• How did Jesus teach?
• How did Jesus tell the disciples to teach?

How did Jesus teach?

“You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” Acts 10:37,38

In Matthew 3 we find Jesus being baptized by John in the Jordan. Until then I believe baptism was more of a outward sign, a confession of faith, so to say. But when Jesus was baptized something deeper happened, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, came on Jesus and then His earthly ministry began, which was one of teaching and power. It’s this same power that Jesus told His disciples to wait for in Jerusalem before they could start their “great commission”. (Acts 1:4,5,8)

In Luke 4 we find Jesus Himself saying what this power, anointing, Spirit was for:

“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:14-21

Jesus then went on preaching the good news of a God who loved the world so much, He wasn’t going to hold anything back (John 3:16,17). He confirmed this teaching with opening up salvation to anyone who would believe. In Mark 16, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” By now we should know that baptism here means the same baptism Jesus had, one with the Holy Spirit. But lets look for a second at the word “saved”, in Greek = Sozo (Strong’s Gr 4982) .

Sozo (salvation) touches 3 areas.

• Salvation for the Spirit (Mat 1:21, Rom 10:13)
• Deliverance for the Soul (Luke 8:36)
• Healing for the Body (Mark 5:34, James 5:15)

The Good News, salvation, has a lot more to offer than just being baptized in the names of God, and being taught how to live in righteousness. The Good News is really a Gospel of Power, the power to save and affect every area of our lives. Without power, without the Holy Spirit, are we not just going back to the law (Rom 8)?  Jesus taught in the power of the Holy Spirit. He demonstrated this power through healing all who were sick (Mark 6:56), casting out demons (Mat 8:16) and forgiving sins (Luke 5:24).

How did Jesus tell his disciples to teach?

The first time Jesus sends out the 72 others besides his disciples, he gives them these instructions: “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you (Luke 10:9).’ ” When they got back they reported with joy, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” And then Jesus replied:

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.’

‘All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’

Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.’ ” (Luke 10:18-24 emphasis mine)

Notice the joy for both Jesus and His disciples? Notice how Jesus praises the Father for what He was doing according to His good pleasure? And then how Jesus blessed His disciples for what they have seen? That is the way missions should be done! That is the results that we should be expecting! Jesus sent out His disciples in power and they continued the same ministry of words and wonders as He did. According to Acts 2:4, we now have that same power!

We easily quote Matthew 28’s “Great commission” because it doesn’t require a lot of us; and to be frank, it’s easier to read it by itself without adding the other great commission verses to it. I think the reason we see Christianity impact so little of the world, is because we don’t see in the same breath and with the same enthusiasm in context of the rest of the Great Commission which is found in Mark 16:16-18:

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

About Marnus Coetzee: Born and raised in South Africa, I heard God’s call into missions and joined OM (Operation Mobilization) in 2005. I did 6 months of missions training before spending a year in Ukraine. I now serve full time with OM USA as a prayer coach. Among using blogs, Twitter, and Facebook to equip and train the body of Christ, I lead teams on international missions trips to the middle east, with an emphasis on supernatural evangelism. In 2010 I start my second year at Bethel Atlanta School of Supernatural Ministry. I also serve on the Prophetic and Sozo ministry teams at Bethel Atlanta. For my’ blog visit http://www.marnusandlisa.com

There are many people in the body of Christ who are asking God these two questions:

“WHY? Why have I been prayed for to be healed, and yet, I’m still suffering?”

“WHEN? When, Lord, will I be healed?”

Perhaps some of you reading this have asked these two questions.
You have requested prayer. The pastor or a visiting evangelist laid hands on you for healing, but you stayed the same as before. You cannot help but wonder, “Why?”
You see in the scriptures that “…Jesus… went about doing good: healing ALL who were oppressed of the devil…” – Acts 10:38
You believe it is God’s will for you to be healed, based on the promises and provisions of the New Testament….and you are CORRECT!
So, now you ask, “When, Lord?”

I asked these same questions myself. You see, several years ago, I received a revelation about healing from Luke 4:18 and Matthew 10. I began to see multitudes healed on a regular basis OUTSIDE THE 4 WALLS OF THE CHURCH! But…inside the church, it was a completely different story.

This perplexed me and caused me much anguish. I spent much time of the next few years, praying, fasting and asking Father about it. Then, I received another great revelation from Scripture. As a result, I now see as many healed inside the Church as I do outside the Church.

The answer is found in several passages of scripture. We’ll look first at James 5:14-16:

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

A great part of my failure INSIDE the Church, among BELIEVERS, was that I was trying to apply the same principles there as I was using in the “…As you go,…” area.

You see, our Lord Jesus, in the days of His flesh, healed ALL that were sick…BUT…NOT ONE OF THEM WAS A CHRISTIAN when He healed them! Many times, after healing them He would warn, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you!”

All Jesus required of these sinners to GET HEALED was enough faith to ALLOW Him to touch them and say, BE HEALED!…or RISE AND WALK!…

Now that Jesus has gone to the cross, died, been buried and has risen again from death, He has born-again children of God who sometimes need healing. We, as followers of Jesus Christ are no longer ignorant sinners. We are born of God! We Know Him! We have His words and we read them (or at least, we should). “To whom MUCH is given, Much is required”.

Notice verse 14 of James 5, “Is ANY sick AMONG YOU?” Then, in verse 16, “…confess your faults (sins) one to another, and pray one for another THAT YOU MAY BE HEALED…“

You see, my dear brother/sister, the Father requires something MORE of us!
As we will see in future articles on this subject as we go over a number of passages of scripture in detail, the primary hindrances to healing inside the Church, are bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness.

The Church at Corinth, in the days of the Apostle Paul, was faced with this same situation. Some of them had become sick and were not healed. Others became sick and actually died as a result. This brought up the inevitable question, “WHY?”

Paul endeavored to answer it in his first letter to the Corinthians. In 1Cor. 11:17-18(AMP):

“But in what I instruct [you] next I do not commend [you], because when you meet together, it is not for the better but for the worse. For in the first place, when you assemble as a congregation, I hear that there are cliques (divisions and factions) among you; and I in part believe it”.

Also, in verses 27-31(AMP),we read this concerning the taking of communion:

So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of [profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man [thoroughly] examine himself, and [only when he has done] so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that [it is Christ's] body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself. That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death. For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

Brothers and sisters in Christ, THERE IS HEALING IN THE ATONEMENT, and that is what communion represents. We can be healed as we partake, UNLESS WE PARTAKE UNWORTHILY, NOT DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY!

We are commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to WALK IN LOVE, PERIOD!  We are even exhorted to “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven. For He makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what thanks do you have…? And if you greet your brothers only, How are you different…? Be ye therefore perfect (mature, walking in love), even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect (loves His enemies).” – Matt. 5:44-48.

WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST!

Communion is a representation of His body. The bread represents His body. He took stripes on His body to provide for our healing. Are you beginning to get the picture here? Communion means “common-union”.  When we allow bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, envy, strife, jealousy, slander, etc… to have a place in us, we divide the body of Christ. These things hinder your faith and cause your heart to condemn you.

1 John 3:18-23:

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

Perhaps you are thinking, “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY DID!”

The greater the offense – the greater the opportunity to exercise the God kind of love, and FORGIVE!

Remember the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis? His brothers did him wrong, and THEY WERE THE PEOPLE OF GOD!!! Did he hold it against them? No, and he wasn’t even born-again!

DO YOU WANT TO BE HEALED?  Forgive those who’ve wronged you.

Your servant-brother,

Joel Crumpton

Joel and Pat Crumpton live in Atlanta and work with a ministry called Rescue Atlanta. To learn more about them visit http://www.fire-international.org/?p=1546. Joel’s blog is http://joelcrumpton.blogspot.com/

If you would like to hear more on this subject and go further in depth with both *being* healed, and ministering healing you may want to listen to our two part series of our Fire On Your Head Podcast

“Are Any Among You sick?”

Download this episode (right click and save)

“As you Go, Heal the Sick!”

Download this episode (right click and save)

Boldness — Faith that Brings Heaven to Earth

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 ESV)

Every so often, I get told by individuals that they perceive me to be a “faith teacher” in a derogatory way as if studying about, living this out, and writing about it is a bad thing.  Sometimes people rightly perceive this to be my favorite topic, or that I’m not capable of writing or preaching about any other subject.  I’m hardly ever offended by such notions since the Word of God says “the just shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10:38) and Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (King James Version)  Therefore, I don’t get how one could allegedly spend too much time finding out HOW to live like a righteous person in God’s eyes, and how to please Him in the Christian walk!

That being said, this article is born out of reflecting on things as a result of reading Watchman Nee’s “The Normal Christian“, especially the chapter early in the book called “The Path To Progress: Reckoning.“  I also decided to unofficially add this to what was a two part series on how to increase your faith, because I think this is a fitting continuation of that series.  To read them click here: part 1, part 2.

The key important thing about faith to remember is that it is always based on the promise already stated.  This is what distinguishes it from hope.  Hope doesn’t know for certain what will or could happen, but longs for the desired result.  Faith however, stands on some kind of prior knowledge, what has already been established–the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb 11:1).  One needs to stick to the Word of God, and have confidence based on what is written in it, and like the context of this particular verse states, then you will know what to speak to the mountainous problem you may be facing.  Therefore, another key to increasing your faith is changing your focus.  Instead of focusing on the problem, don’t just speak to it, but find out what exactly the Word of God already says about that situation or circumstance, and how a believer is to face it, and focus on that and only speak of the victory Christ promised, and not give any voice to any discouragement tempting you.

Faith looks at something as if it is already done, because it knows that it is, and nothing shakes that.  However, hope has no such specific assurance but flows out of faith–it can only hope for the desired outcome because it relies on what has been promised.  Faith is the acceptance of God’s fact.   Hope trusts in something still future because of what it already knows and accepts as fact.  For example, in the referred to chapter, Nee goes on to teach that just because the Christian might still struggle with sin or be living in lifestyle of sin doesn’t contradict that he has (past tense) been purchased with the blood of Christ and is made a new creation.  The way faith would be applied to this significant fact, is to look at the word “reckon”–or as other translations like the ESV tell us– “consider”–as used in in the following context:

“For the death he died (past tense) he died to sin, once (past tense) for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselvesdead (past tense) to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” (Romans 6:10-12 ESV, emphasis and parenthesis mine)

You cannot reckon or consider anything without first having had the concept or idea introduced to you to be able to ponder it or think of it, or act on the knowledge you’ve been given.  ’Reckon’ or ‘consider’ are words that only relate to the past in this regard, and give context to the word ‘therefore‘ which leads into what is to take place now in the present for the believer: not letting sin reign in your mortal body, based on the act that has happened–you have died to sin, because of what Christ has done.  The way to overcoming sin is to consider or reckon what the Word of God has already stated, concerning what has already been accomplished at the Cross of Calvary–in this case, that Christ died and overcame sin, and that you, if you’ve given your life to Christ, you were hidden in Him, and by that, died with him when He hung on the cross.  Therefore, you substantiate that into existence in your own life as a Christian.  But how you ask?  Past posts of mine tagged ‘faith‘ go into significant detail on this, but to give a concise answer, I say focus on the promise from His Word and do not let the circumstances distract you:

All temptation is primarily to look within; to take our eyes off the Lord and to take account of appearances.  Faith is always meeting a mountain, a mountain of evidence  that seems to contradict God’s Word, a mountain of apparent contradiction in the realm of tangible fact–of failures in deed, as well as in the realm of feelings and suggestion–and either faith or the mountain has to go.  They cannot both stand.  But the trouble is that many a time the mountain stays and faith goes.  That must not be.  If we resort to our senses to discover the truth, we shall find Satan’s lies are often enough true to our experience; but if we refuse to accept as binding anything that contracts God’s Word and maintain an attitude of faith in him alone, we shall find instead that Satan’s lies begin to dissolve and that our experience is coming progressively to tally with that Word.” Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life, p 72.

Hanging on To The Promises of God

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called (past tense promise) to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going…For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (Heb 11:8, 10, emphasis & parenthesis mine)

Despite the decades that passed before Abraham and Sarah would see the promise fulfilled and give birth to their son Isaac, they had the promise of the word of the Lord when He told him

“Look up at the heavens and count the stars –if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be” (Gen 15:5)

They hung on to this promise given them in order to have the hope that it would be fulfilled.

“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised” (Rom 4:20-21)

By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered (or reckoned) him faithful who had promised. (Heb 11:11, parenthesis mine).  

There’s much more we could learn from the life of Abraham, but for brevity’s sake we’ll leave out of today’s post.

Despite the dreams given to him years earlier in his youth of leadership, Joseph did not look like he’d be ruling anybody or anything while he was locked away in a dungeon. I have always imagined these dreams and the promises they meant would go through Joseph’s mind many a night as he lay shackled in a dark dungeon forgotten by the very people he’d helped.  He reckoned that God would do what He said He would with his life.  Or what of the promise the Lord made Moses concerning leading the people out of Egypt?  It didn’t look like it was about to come to pass when immediately after speaking to the Pharaoh, who increased their work quota, and it took ten plagues before he finally had enough and released the Israelites to go on their way. But I’m sure Moses reckoned that God would do what He said, and could cling to that promise despite the natural circumstances looking like they were getting more and more difficult.

Despite the prophecies, Jesus Christ, our example and savior, it didn’t appear to the pharisees standing watching and mocking that He was going to save or rule anybody, let alone live when He hung bloody, naked, and twisted on a wooden cross.  But yet what was spoken would come to pass.  Oftentimes, the promise is the most difficult to believe in right before its eventual fulfillment.  We could go on with many more examples from Scripture of people receiving that which they were promised, and if you read through Hebrews 11, you’ll notice the same pattern written of a promise made, followed by an expectation of fulfillment by most of the people mention there.

Also consider how Isaiah 55:11 says  

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

God’s written and spoken Word will be accomplished, since God is not a man that He can lie (Num 23:19), and if He has spoken in it in the Bible, you can rely on it and put your confidence in the Lord about the matter.  What He has already spoken, will come to pass.  If He has spoken to you in the prayer closet, you can rest assured He will perform what He said He would, for the very word He gave you often times was to give you an anchor to hang on to when the circumstances immediately following it test your confidence in the matter,  so believe that you have received it.  It is done.  If you need healing in your body, then learn from these figures in the Bible who were put there as our example and take courage.   Be like Abraham who did not consider (or reckon) in his old age that producing a child with his wife was impossible.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And let the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7)

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Steve Bremner is a missionary to Peru, called to raise up disciples who flow in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is general editor of Fire Press, and also produces & co-hosts its podcast called Fire On Your Head. Visit his personal site at http://stevebremner.com 

 

I have never re-written an entry so many times since I started blogging as the following post. Frankly, these thoughts are controversial, and nobody reading it will agree 100% with me, and I’m not trying to provide pat answers in order to uphold my doctrine. I hate when people do that to me–who don’t want to back down from their views, but ignore pertinent Scriptures or just plain rationalize things away. I once wrote this over 2 years ago for my personal blog, and I’ve sinced reworked it over time the more I learned different things.  I realize I’ll never completely be satisfied with it, so I warn you all now—I’m not trying to say I have all the answers. I’m just sharing what I think Scripture shows. I’m also leaving out of this discussion traditional Calvinism and martyrdom, which are valid things to consider, but more of a tangent to this particular post. Comments and discussion are more than welcome.

The Last Enemy is Death

Let’s begin with keeping in mind 1 Corinthians 15:26 states that the last enemy to be destroyed is death. It tells us death is still ‘here’ until that happens. The context being that this is taught usually as a rapture passage–but how can we be changed at the ‘last trumpet’ unless there are other trumpets first?  I will not go there at this time, other than pointing out for this entry, that this is at the end of history.  The passage states:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:50-57 ESV, parentheses mine)

Observations to note:

• Verse 50 makes clear that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Is it not true that for now we clothed in flesh and blood, perishable mortal bodies (v. 53)?
• We’re going to have glorified ‘new bodies’ in heaven and not what we’ve got now.

I’ve had people say to me that since we get new bodies at that time, then there’s no point in having our bodies healed now in this lifetime. These can go ahead and practice what they preach. Others say “the ultimate healing is in death.” My response to that ill logic anymore is:  “then stay sick with your illness or problem for the rest of your earthly life until you die.” This shocks most people, but it shouldn’t if they really believe what they say. Who on earth and in their right mind will want to keep an illness or an infirmity for the rest of their earthly life if that burden can or could be removed from them in this lifetime?! Remember that Jesus healed physical ‘perishable bodies’ in his earthly lifetime, even though those people would go on to die one day anyway, so just pointing out that Jesus healed people makes the “we’re all going to die one day” a moot point. Also keep in mind how Romans 8:11 says

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

And furthermore, keep in mind that in His earthly ministry, Jesus did not raise all the dead. In fact, the accounts of the dead being raised in the Gospels are typically of young people or people who died suddenly from sicknesses—“before their time” if you will. Those are the types of people He raised from the dead, but then they eventually died later anyway. We’re not told how old Lazarus lived to be. We are not told how long Jairus’ daughter lived after being raised from the dead, or the widow’s son. I believe, they would have lived on to fulfill their purpose and destiny. Based on Hebrews 9:27 which says “it is appointed once to die, then after that comes the judgment” (Emphasis mine).

If this passage is true (which all Scripture is!) and if what most evangelicals teach concerning the Sovereignty of God is true, then Jesus was messing up the Father’s plan by raising from the dead those that the Father appointed to die. In fact, how do we handle the fact there are people in human history and in the Gospel records who died twice—the people Jesus raised from the dead, who died later for good? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Matt 12:25). Jesus never did anything in rebellion or contradiction to the Father, but only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19). So if Jesus raised people from the dead, it means the Father wanted Jesus to do so, implying the Father didn’t want those peoples’ lives ended at that time. Does Father God have multiple personalities? Does He ‘kill people’ and then raise them again? Of course not!

The thing to keep in mind, is the word “appointed.” Things happen that aren’t God’s will all sorts of times in Scripture.  For example, how can God regret doing anything, if it’s not what He originally intended?  Our own life experiences demonstrate this also–but God is bigger than the devil and can do a good job at cleaning up the devil’s mess. So good, in fact, that we forget there ever was a mess and conclude the thing must have been God’s will all along because of what good we saw come out of it. This also in many ways answers the way God can will for everyone to be healed, but not all get healed, or how He’s not willing that ANY should perish (1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9), but that hell having a population of at least one soul proves something being God’s will doesn’t guarantee it to come to pass. I’ve talked about this in particular elsewhere, and don’t want to get too sidetracked from the ‘why do we still die’ question.

I’ve said before I don’t believe diseases, cancer or terminal illnesses are God’s way of “bringing people home”. It may have happened to a loved one in your family, and you believe without a shadow of a doubt that it was their time to go or that God was the Author of it. I will sympathize with your loss, and won’t argue with you—I just personally don’t believe from Scripture that’s how God does it, and will not settle for it in my own life.  I could be wrong, but obviously this is my view for now in my journey with Christ.

Why do so many Christians believe God and Satan are teammates?

I don’t believe in the ‘sickness unto death’ the way it’s taught (it comes side-by-side with the ‘sickness unto chastisement’ teaching). It teaches that God puts certain sicknesses on us that we will die from. The only Scripture I can think of at the moment is 2 Kings 13:14 which states “Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die…” Never mind the fact that this is one sentence mentioning his illness in passing, and never mind the fact we are not told what it was, and that there’s no real New Testament example of something similar, unless people cling tightly to the idea Paul’s thorn in the flesh was a sickness, which was a messenger from SATAN, not God–He just didn’t remove it.

Why do so many believers think we all have to die of something? Don’t many people NOT die of cancer, or heart attacks, or whatever? Is it that hard to believe we’ll just ‘stop working’ one day and go home? Don’t some die in their sleep peacefully? Don’t some just one day drop dead for no reason in particular other than old age, and “give up the ghost?”. Why is it so many Christians are pessimistic instead of optimistic when it comes to healing and sicknesses?!

I had someone tell me recently they believe in healing, but that it’s not God’s will to heal everybody. This is not new, I hear it all the time—the Bible says all sorts of things that Christians have to add a “but” to with their own spin. Never minding that it does sound pious and honorable, but it’s not Scriptural. I sat and listened to this brother carefully, without making any objections or starting any arguments because this “sickness unto chastisement” was actually new to my ears when he told me of it. But when it and ‘sickness unto death’ came up repeatedly, I got really curious where this belief comes from, and later, prior to writing this, did a Google search and read articles (in their entirety) that showed up in the search results. One thing I noticed time and time again is that this teaching is basically based on 1 Corinthians 11 when it’s talking of the church at Corinth partaking unworthily of the Lord’s Supper. Never mind that the sicknesses and people falling ill was JUDGEMENT for the way they partook of this covenant meal! Or lack of ‘covenant protection’ resulting in death–however you want to read it.

Do all who get sick fall ill because they’re under judgment from God? Definitely not! If someone asks me to pray for them, do I tell them the reason they’re sick is judgment from God? Heck no! And if it is, does that mean we shouldn’t be merciful and gracious like Jesus and pray for them anyway? Of course not. Leave that to God, if the judgment is between Him and them, but you do your job and lay hands on them anyway. Read James 5 where it states the elders will pray for the sick, they will be healed and whatever sins they’ve committed will be forgiven (simultaneously as they’re being healed of sickness).

But the New Testament examples I see, such as this one mentioned, involve God judging sin. Obedient children of God following Him have no need of worrying God will judge them if they’re not in disobedience to Him. This sickness unto death/chastisement stuff from what I can tell, does little other than make people wonder if God is upset with them if they fall ill, instead of looking at their real enemy who may more than likely be the real perpetrator. It should be noted, I notice also in all these articles that sickness usually is never viewed as a curse or a BAD thing by most evangelicals–or that the devil is ever involved, but always the “Lord works in mysterious ways and who are we to question what He allows us to go through.” I’ll tell you why should question it—because you could be wrong, and finding out the truth could change your situation around! No wonder many people don’t believe it’s the Lord’s will to heal them if this is the kind of stuff they’re being taught! No wonder we don’t see more healings and miracles—you get what you teach and preach for!

Physical Death

This may shock you that I’d answer this way, or it might not ring right in your ears, but I believe that death, in that we all die one day (because it’s appointed once for all to die) is unrelated to healing, sickness, restoration and the atonement. Hear me out before you assume I’m contradicting myself or sounding like I’m a politician talking out of both sides of my mouth:

Death, in that we live out our lives and then one day “give up the ghost” and go home, is a matter of going home when our numbered days are completed. God doesn’t “kill us”. He brings His children home, and has a time ordained for each to come home. The devil on the other hand, seeks to steal, kill and destroy, and in other words take from us what God gives and gave us—and bring that day to pass sooner. And people do stupid things by way of accident or negligence that God sometimes doesn’t intervene and prevent. Also, it’s the devil whose whole mission and modus operandi is to rob us of our earthly callings and he takes people out, and it’s not God’s will. I will not tackle Calvnistic viewpoints on the sovereignty of God, and I will not cover the subject of martyrdom in this entry on purpose because I don’t want to get more off subject than I already have to some degree already, but these are things I believe regarding death and living out our time.

When Adam and Eve were punished for their disobedience, God says in Genesis 3:22:

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever–” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

According to this passage, God kept Adam out of the Garden of Eden after this, so that he would not reach out and eat from the other tree as well–remember, there were two trees in the Garden (Genesis 2:9). The Lord told Adam, that in the day that he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (not to be confused with the tree of life), he’d surely die. Did either Eve or Adam die on the very day they ate the fruit? No?  Then what’s to be made of this ‘death’? Was it just spiritual death? I don’t know exactly. Notice that the Lord tells Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but in Genesis 3:2-3, Eve tells the serpent it was the tree of life they’re not to eat, or they’d die. Well which was it they were not to eat? Were they not to eat either one? Or was she confused and spoke wrongly, since after all, it wasn’t her directly that the Lord gave this instruction to, since she wasn’t even created yet when the Lord instructed Adam about this? Was she adding to what she was told?

Consider this: In order for God to banish them so that they won’t eat of the tree of life and live forever, it implies they were not going to live forever unless they ate it. This was AFTER they sinned and were now in a fallen state. Death and sin entered creation as a result of their disobedience. Before automatically assuming what I’ve been saying and about to say is heresy, give it some thought and go over the first three chapters of Genesis carefully (I still am doing so), and see if just because you’ve never heard it that way before, doesn’t mean it might not be correct. Also, when reading commentaries and doing searches on Google typing in “if God wills to heal all ,then why do all still die”, I don’t find pages that deal with this passage, so I’m hard pressed to find correct interpretations of this.

I won’t take a dogmatic stand on it, but it does give some insight into this discussion about dying if God wants all of us well in our bodies. God refusing to allow Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of life now that they are corrupt and defiled, was an act of his mercy—He didn’t want man living forever in their sinful flesh, and in a fallen world. That, would be hell. Hell is eternity in sin cut off from the Lord, and if Adam ate of the fruit from the tree of life, it would not have been much better than an eternity in hell will be.

The book of Revelation says we will at that time get to eat of the tree of life. In the meantime, until our lifespan is over, God can and does ‘patch up’ our bodies to keep working, but we don’t get a brand new body in this lifetime.

Conclusion (for now)

So to reiterate, our healing in our current bodies—our redemption and our restoration, has been purchased for us in this lifetime. Are all fully enjoying physical healing 100 % of the time? To answer that question let me pose another question: are we enjoying the full benefits—in this lifetime—of anything God’s given us? Are we fully enjoying the benefits of having our sins forgiven? Physical death has everything, however, do to with resurrection. Can you be resurrected if you’re not dead?

In closing, Isaiah 33:20-24, describes the new Zion where God’s people will dwell:

Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be plucked up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
But there the LORD in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor majestic ship can pass.
For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Your cords hang loose; they cannot hold the mast firm in its place or keep the sail spread out. Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided; even the lame will take the prey.
And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.

Notice verse 24 brings up how nobody will be sick, because their sins are forgiven. The two are related–as I’ve been stating in detail in recent entries–and in this time spoken of here, the full revelation and embodiment of what has been purchased on the cross in the atonement of Christ will be realized.

You can wait until then to see healing in your body if you want to. But I’m still going for it in this lifetime, based on what the Word of God says.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

Editor’s note: I wrote this as a follow up to this post, and thought I’d take the time to post another “how to have faith” entry, but this time just list several Scripture verses to help remove some misunderstandings about faith and how it works and what it is believers do have exactly.  This post will be technical instead of deep and profound.  For a more recent up to date revision of this post, it’s recommended that you visit this same article, but posted here at my own personal site.

Why study faith?

Because the Bible is clear about what promises we are to obtain by faith, and what it produces in our lives or what lack of it will fail to produce. If God places within our hands the means whereby faith can be produced, then the responsibility of whether we have faith or not rests upon us. It is therefore necessary to know how this takes place if we are planning on going further into the promises of God that we obtain by faith.

Romans 12:3 – “For by the grace of God given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned.”

• We are each given a measure or amount of faith, by the grace of God.

Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

• The measure of faith that we each have, is a gift from God, that He gives based on His grace towards us. We don’t ‘earn’ faith, it is a gift given.

Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.”

• Pretty simple and straightforward—hearing the Word of God produces faith. Therefore, it’s a good idea to make sure to read and study the Word of God, speak it and meditate on it, just like the following verse says:

2 Cor. 4:13 – “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak.”

• What we believe influences what we speak. The Bible also says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt 12:34). What is in your heart? What are you saying?

2 Thess. 1:3 – “We ought to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.”

• Our faith can grow. If it can grow abundantly, then the opposite must also be possible, in that believers can fail to grow in the area of faith. If it can grow, or stay small, then that must mean believers can be at different degrees of growth when it comes to having faith, would it not?

Romans 4:19-20 – “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.”

• We can be strong in faith, or we can be weak in faith. Notice“Abraham grew strong in his faith AS he gave glory to God”. It’s reasonable to assume that your faith will grow if you decide to glorify God while you’re waiting for the promise you’re believing for to finally come to pass. Don’t keep asking God to fulfill His promise, but glorify Him and thank Him for it.
  

1 John 5:14-15 says “And this is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, he hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

• Thank God and praise Him for the answer to your prayer before the answer has been manifested. This is KEY to seeing the promise fulfilled.

Philippians 4:6-7 also brings this to light, as it says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

• If we believe God has granted us the answer to what we ask of Him we will not be anxious in waiting for its fulfillment. Anxiety over if God will fulfill His promise is symptomatic of a heart that is uncertain of whether God will in fact answer. If you are seeking something He has promised in His Word, then you can know His will on the matter, and seek the answer more confidently. If you don’t give your prayer with supplication AND thanksgiving (before the answer has come) then God won’t in turn guard your heart and give you the peace that keeps you from being anxious about it.

Another important component to developing faith is found in Hebrews 11. The whole chapter is great, but for brevity’s sake, let’s look at verse 6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him.” If you have a translation of the Bible that words it that believers are to believe that God “exists” grab a pen and scribble the word out and put “is” instead. Many modern translations mistranslate this when the original text has a connotation of God “being” [as He is]. Believers in Jesus Christ ALREADY know that He exists! What are believers to believe God “is”? Read the rest of the verse—that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

The believer will have a hard time standing on any promise in the Word of God if they stumble over the fact that God is provider or any other character trait made clear in His word about Himself. “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Num 23:19)Any doubt of who God is and if He will perform what He has promised will cause the believer not to seek God, Who is a rewarder of those who seek Him. It’s as simple as that.

I strongly suggest this past post on mountain-moving faith, for more on how we bring ourselves to that point, because I’m going to say some things as though the reader is already familiar with the concepts found in Mark 11:23-24. Jesus never told us just to believe. But he did tell us to speak, and believe that we will have the things we say/pray for. Again, notice the speaking and what we confess. What are we told in this passage to believe? That the things we say WILL come to pass. So what are you saying? Are you whining all the time about your problems? Or are you speaking victory and freedom? We are told to speak to the mountain what God’s Word says, but most Christians speak to God about the mountain.

Too many Christians are like Pharisees and don’t have a clue they are. I’m not talking about the legalistic obedience of man-made rules—I’m talking of the ones who won’t and don’t believe until they see. That’s not faith. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). If you could see it, then that wouldn’t be faith. When most Christians say they’re cautious and skeptical of something (like healing) and they won’t accept it until they see it for themselves, they’re really just broadcasting their ignorance and unbelief. Believing it when you see it is knowledge, but not faith. These believers are walking by sight, not faith.Bless their hearts.

More Scripture verses on faith:

James 2:5 – “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which He has promised to those who love Him?”

• If we can be rich in faith, we can be poor in faith also, wouldn’t you agree? It doesn’t take being poor in this world’s standards to be rich in faith either, you know!

Acts 6:5a – “And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit”

• If we can be full of faith, do you think we can be empty and lacking it? Or running on near empty?

James 2:22 – “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.”

• Again, I hope my over-simplification of these verses doesn’t sound condescending or patronizing, but most Christians don’t think of these things: if your faith can be active, it can be inactive. It can lack actions to demonstrate or go along with the confession of your mouth. Faith is active and demonstrated by actions, not just a mental belief. Check this entry for more on how faith is not mental.

1 Tim 1:5 – “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

• If faith can be sincere, it can be insincere, no?

1 Tim 1:19 – “Holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this some have made shipwreck of their faith.”

• How do people shipwreck their faith, by the way?

1 John 5:4 – “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith.”

• Faith is how we overcome. If we are not overcoming, is it possible, according to this verse, that maybe–just maybe–we aren’t walking in our faith? If our faith is how we overcome, then yes!

Now I strongly suggest going over these verses for yourself, memorizing them, studying them, familiarizing yourself with them even if you think you already know them.  I don’t like formulas, but something that can help you is the following if you’re facing a mountain you need to speak to and throw into the sea—and make sure you have your bathing suit on, too.

A Four Step Formula for Faith:
1- Find a promise in God’s Word for whatever you are seeking.
2- Believe God’s word as you would the word from a friend.
3- Do not consider the contradictory circumstances
4- Praise God for the answer, acting on the Word of God.

If this entry blessed you and you’d like to hear further teaching on faith and how to have more of it, then consider listening to this teaching of mine on the subject:

Faith and Healing -

Download mp3 (right click and save) 

Steve Bremner is a missionary to Peru, called to raise up disciples who flow in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is general editor of Fire Press, and also produces & co-hosts its podcast called Fire On Your Head. Visit his personal site at http://stevebremner.com 

And be sure to let me know if you got that pair of socks you were believing for (see last post’s analogy).

Editor’s note:  this post is a few years old, and for a more recent revision and update of it, it’s highly encouraged you read this version on my new personal site at this link.  Because a large number of our search engine hits lead to this page, I thought you should know there’s a more recent update to read if you’re interested in this subject matter.

I’ve written entries before concerning how to have faith, or how to increase it. I honestly don’t think faith is a subject that can be exhausted, but all of us can use continual reminders. So allow me to present a simple and practical way to increase your faith for believing for the impossible.  This post will deal with a lot of personal experience, and next week’s follow-up will delve into detailed Scriptures on the subject. This will be long, but not too deep.

First, let me establish that it’s NOT true that all believers have an “equal amount” of faith. Baby Christians for example, would have a hard time believing God–or you–if you spoke to them something on His behalf—if you told them grand supernatural things that God was going to do using them. Whereas someone who’s older and more mature in the Lord, should have been stretched and gone through enough experiences in life that he could see for himself in his own life how God’s promises are yes and amen in Him (2 Cor 2:20).

Each of us begins at the point we’re saved, with an equal measure of faith, but from then on the believer is shaped by experiences, how much of the Word of God they choose to eat—they can eat it in bites, or they can devour it.  Individuals can have the faith to be saved, and be converted at the same point in time, and some out-pace others by leaps and bounds as to the depths in God they choose to go into, while others drag their feet and never leave their diapers behind.

That being said, I’m writing this to anyone who wants more faith. What is the simplest and most obvious way to increase your faith? Trials and tests. Great faith comes by great tests. It doesn’t come just by feeding on God’s Word. Nor does it come from listening to great preaching podcasts or mp3s, or reading a lot of books by faith teachers. The potential for great faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17).

Great faith comes when you put what you’ve heard or learned into practice. Athletes don’t build muscle by knowing how to. They get stronger from actually building those muscles. How do they do it? They work out in the gym. They go for runs or make sure they eat healthy. But with exercise, they use their muscles against something—‘no pain, no gain.’ They don’t get bulked up and physically fit from just reading books about how to exercise—they exercise! To build faith muscles, you have to use your faith against something. You need some kind of pressure put on you, whether it be from the Heavenly Father allowing us to be tested, or whether it be demonic attack over our lives through finances, health or other various and typical circumstances he attacks us through.

Miraculous formation of an unborn baby’s brain

I once heard second-hand about a man who found out that his unborn daughter was going to be born with only a quarter of her normal brain fully formed. In response to this, the man quit his job, and got all the healing and faith preachings he could get his hands on, and would pace the floor of his living room all day listening to them as if it were a full time job. Then after a few weeks when he was convinced in his spirit of God’s will for his daughter to be born whole, and not lacking, he found all the Scriptures in the Word of God dealing with the subject, and would pace his living room praying in tongues and confessing these verses out loud. Simple Bible verses that were just “typical” healing passages, he’d read them and quote them out loud for hours. Then after about 5 or 6 hours, he would just thank God for the miracle He had already provided, as if it had already came to pass. He knew what 1 John 5:14-15 said concerning believing that we’ve received. Then he’d go to bed, and start the same routine again the next day.

You’re likely reading that thinking that’s insane, but that’s what this man decided was necessary to do to bring himself to a place where he could confidently expect God to move in his daughter’s body. He didn’t do this stuff to “get God to heal”, but to bring himself to a place of faith where he could believe he received what God already gave. That part right there—that God already provides things and it’s up to us to obtain them by faith–trips up many people who believe that in God’s sovereignty He picks some to die prematurely for some higher purpose. Wrong!!!!!!!! God doesn’t kill babies because He “needs another flower in His garden”. In fact, if you want to keep your head attached to your neck, you best not ever say something like that around me in person. When a family loses a loved one, especially a child or a pregnancy that results in miscarriage, the last thing they need to be told is the utter schlock that passes for “proper theology” like “God willed it”. I’m sorry, you’ll never find that in Scripture, and what most people base their theology on is the promises of the Word they’ve failed to obtain in their experience or someone else’s. But if you want to be bold and believe for the miraculous you will need to ignore such people—they’ll only drag you down and talk you out of it. I had a teacher who once said “healing is relative: your relatives will keep you from getting healed”.

Needless to say, the man and his wife continued to get ultrasounds done by their doctor, and each time they were seeing that the baby’s brain had grown bigger and bigger until it was fully formed. She was born totally and fully functional, and at the time of the article that I heard this from, the child was 5 or 6 years old or something and had no unusual health problems in her life so far. But this man did what it took to bring himself to a place of faith to obtain the promise. Many people don’t want to persevere to obtain miracles, because many believe if you don’t get the answer right away, then that means God’s answer is “no” and it’s improper to keep persisting. I wonder if these same people read the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 11?

My personal financial needs met

Recently in my life I was really stretched and challenged in the area of my finances. I don’t make my support levels public, and when I indicate or ask for needs to be prayed about, I remain vague.  At the beginning of 2007, my first two months back in The Netherlands where I was serving as a missionary at the time, no financial support came in for me like I had been counting on (and should if people are pledging to support, but that’s another sermon). I had my parents send me some money, but Calvary International Canada, my missions covering, e-mailed me explaining the reason no money was put in my account was because no money had come in for me. Yikes! I have been in tight spots before, and much of the previous 6 years of my life to that point, I’ve lived in other countries, unable to legally work in them, and had to believe God for my jar to not run empty–but it overflowed only by HIS miraculous provision. Since I was already in the habit of praying for extended periods in tongues in the basement at our team’s Firehouse cafe in afternoons or evenings when we’re closed, I started to find Scriptures that talked about God meeting my needs–or passages on money–and write Scripture memory cards and pace the floor of the café and read them over and over again out loud, and confessing the Word over my problems like I’ve been blogging about for months now.  I was practicing what I’m preaching and, I only teach what I know from experience and the Word of Christ.

I also did NOT ask God for money–I thanked Him for already providing it. I thanked Him for the various ways and methods He had decided to get it to me. Harold Collins, my director at C.I.C. says “God told us to pray for our daily bread, not our monthly bread” and boy was I finding that true! But I still never lacked, and I ate nicely, and owe no bills. Immediately after discovering this “crisis”, I found out that my American agency, F.I.R.E. International, had deposited almost $400 US into my account, but I didn’t know it for almost a week because I hardly ever check it because most of my support comes in through Canada, and what does come in through F.I. just covers my expenses with them producing my newsletters and mailing them to Canada for me.  When I discovered this, I immediately withdrew it and functioned off of it for how long it lasted. Not only that, but a month soon after saw my support spike up to a level higher than what’s normally “pledged” to be there every month. I could go into detail of other things, like having Dutch people paying for things for me or blessing me monetarily. But fact of the matter is, in the natural realm I could not have foreseen that happening while pacing the Firehouse floor in prayer during that whole winter season—not with my natural eyes anyway. Even if next month were to see me have nothing come in again, I can have stronger faith from the previous time it happened, and thank God that that must mean He’s got a more wild way to provide for me that gives Him greater glory as miraculous Provider. When God gets the glory for something that couldn’t have been done by myself or my own ingenuity—then I’m just fine with that, since the glory can only be had by Him!

Anyway, back to our subject: it usually takes pressure or a crisis before we find out what kind of faith we have, and many Christians are more sheltered from that than they realize. Sudden calamity is the only way many people are confronted with the opportunity to put their faith into practice. This is an effective way to grow in our faith, and probably yields the most lasting results, but there are other ways. As Smith Wigglesworth said, great victories come out of great battles.

But other people, if all their faith was dynamite, it wouldn’t be enough to blow their noses! You and I are in charge of how we’re going to respond in the face of crisis—does God really mean what He said in His Word, or not? How we respond determines how our faith will develop.

A simple way to practice having faith

Ask God for something small or trivial, like a new pair of socks–especially if you are NOT going to go out and buy them yourself. Find some simple thing you need and can’t afford or can’t accomplish on your own, and put your faith into the promises of God’s willingness to provide for you. A pair of socks is simple enough. Pray about it and believe for the provision. Pick a specific color. If someone gives you a pair of white socks and you’ve been praying and believing for black socks, then thank God that He gave you the white socks, but keep believing for the ones you asked for. Most people make the mistake of believing “good enough” is God’s best. No, it just means that while waiting to give you the black socks you’ve been asking for, He decided to give you a pair of white socks as well, and the other ones are still on the way.

You probably think I’m being ridiculous, and I am for a purpose. Despise not the day of small beginnings, and if your faith needs to grow, then start with things you can ‘almost’ handle. People don’t go from obtaining the socks they ask for in prayer to moving mountains and splattering grandma’s goiter all over the wall by faith through prayer overnight, do they?!

Click here to read How To Increase Your Faith part 2.

If this entry blessed you and you’d like to hear further teaching on faith and how to have more of it, then consider listening to this teaching of mine on the subject:

Faith and Healing -

Download mp3 (right click and save)

And let me know if you got that pair of socks you were believing for!

Or check out this video of Joel Crumpton teaching on healing and sharing testimonies to build up your faith.

Steve Bremner is a missionary to Peru, called to raise up disciples who flow in the power of the Holy Spirit. He is general editor of Fire Press, and also produces & co-hosts its podcast called Fire On Your Head. Visit his personal site at http://stevebremner.com 

Acts 19:11-12 says 

“And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.”

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but if someone had such a contagious and disgusting eye disease, would we really be passing around handkerchiefs they used–in order to heal sick people and cast out demons with them–or would we not burn them or dispose of them in order to avoid having the infection spread?  Of course not, we’d do all we could to avoid having others get contaminated!

So I’ve taken some time to really ponder why I took the energy and time and gathered some resources to provide some reading about Paul’s thorn. And as promised, I am taking some time to explain why I feel it’s important. Most things are actually just side issues to me–believe it or not, except for things pertaining to healing. If the Bible is clear about something, there is no discussion needed on it. If the Bible is vague on something, then people are free to have their own opinions on. However the Bible is not vague on this topic or this passage, but very clear. It’s our perception of these passages and our ‘faith eyeglasses’ that need fixing. If we let the Scripture merely say what it says, we’d have way less confusion in the Body of Christ, and certainly way less people living in defeat when it comes to seeing a healing in their life, because of a false understanding of this passage and ones seemingly like it.

When dealing with the subject of divine healing, I have yet to find someone in opposition to the subject matter and having faith for it in our day, who does NOT bring up the issue of Paul’s thorn, and that therefore “see, even Paul was sick with something God [allegedly] put on him!  Aha!” Therefore any further discussion or study on the subject should at least deal with this particular roadblock for many hungry seekers of the truth.

And to keep me from being puffed up and too much elated by the exceeding greatness (preeminence) of these revelations, there was given me a thorn (a splinter) in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to rack and buffet and harass me, to keep me from being excessively exalted.
Three times I called upon the Lord and besought [Him] about this and begged that it might depart from me;
But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!
So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful in divine strength). (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Amplified Bible)

One doesn’t actually need to look this passage up in the Amplified translation of the Bible to see from reading in context Paul is not talking about having something physically wrong with him necessarily. No more effort will be spent in this installment trying to persuade the reader of that.

Who really cares what the thorn was or who it came from?

I remember when I had a discussion with someone once that I’ve known for a long time. She had a condition that she attributed to her past, and upon trying to encourage her, using the Word of God to show that He wants (a.k.a. *wills*) to take this away from her, she insisted she was “being taught a lesson” by the Lord, about sowing and reaping. She told me that she’s destined to bear this burden, and you guessed it, her Scriptural support in her mind was “even Paul had a thorn“. I’ve thought about this numerous times since, and in other conversations where people are living in defeat or just plain sick from something but don’t want to believe they can be made whole or well. If what I shared in the first two parts of this discussion was wrong, and let’s hypothetically concede Paul having a disease or sickness God put on him as a ‘thorn in his side’. We also need to take the rest of the passage, which sadly, few Christians can possibly say they live up to: the surpassing greatness of revelations like Paul had. Anybody want to stop there and say they are NOT on the same playing field as Paul now that we factor in this aspect of his having that thorn?!

I know almost no Christian in my life in Canada, the USA or Europe who lives anything like Paul did. Nobody I know is walking in the dynamic of revelations and ministry like Paul–signs and wonders as frequent and commonly as he did–praying more than others, and having things to say so important that his writings are canonized and now a part of Scripture. The last time someone told me they had a thorn, I asked them if they operate in the same capacity of revelation that Paul had. This brother told me with his own words “definitely not”, to which I sharply asked “then what makes you think you need a thorn like his then if you don’t do what he did to supposedly merit having one?!” Why do many believers insist on believing that they deserve a thorn without earning it like Paul–so to speak, I’m being hypothetical, remember.

My reason in sharing that point is that a lot Christians I know want it both ways when it comes to their disadvantages. We try to often make God the problem (“He put this on me”) instead of seeing what the Word really says concerning His promises and acting on it. If I have heard it once I’ve heard it a hundred times–enough to write a study on the subject to post here for any who will read. You have no idea how much it feels like someone’s ripping my fingernails off whenever I hear “well I guess this [insert here] is just my thorn.” No it isn’t. We are in a war, and the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10a). Is God your enemy, or the devil?

The Bible also says in Mark 9:23 that all things are possible to those that believe. All things are possible to whom? Them that believe. That statement is not a blanket promise from God, it’s conditional. God does His part (all things), mixed together with us doing our part — believing. Also, implicit in that statement is the fact that what you believe IS important. Faith can only be had where the will of God is known–for faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). So it’s important to know WHAT the Word of God says, in order to base our faith on it. That’s why so many of my entries take the time to expose what the Scripture says, and not just share an opinion of mine. Too many in the Body of Christ form their opinions and base their doctrines on failure to see something happen. With healing, we hold a double standard to it that I’ve never seen anyone hold to salvation. If we lay hands on a sick person and they don’t get healed, or we are sick and seek healing–and don’t get the results, most believers conclude that it’s not God’s will. Humbug! I know people if you ask them if it’s God’s will for a muslim to be converted, they’d say yes! Ask them why, and they cite at least one verse like John 3:16. Nobody looks at the Middle East saying “well, that’s one billion muslims in the world, and they aren’t saved–I guess that means it’s not God’s will to save all.”

We have total faith for peoples’ salvation based on at least one Scripture verse! In case after reading other entries I’ve written on it and there’s any doubt in your mind–I repeat to you it is just as much God’s will to heal a body as it is to save a person’s soul! Both acts were atoned for at the cross. God doesn’t say “By His [Jesus'] stripes you are healed“ and then put a ‘thorn’ in you. God’s not a sufferer of multiple personality disorder!

Anyway, I hope my thoughts in this entry were organized enough for you. I especially write these things to boost peoples’ faith in the Scriptures for healing because I single-handedly attribute the misteaching out there about Paul’s thorn to be one of the main roadblocks to why some don’t even believe God for their healing, because they erroneously believe, based on this passage out of context, that God wants them sick. It doesn’t glorify God that we are living unhealthy when He paid for all on the cross–our sins and our sickness–both entered the world through Adam and Eve’s sin, and both were paid for by the last Adam–Christ on the cross.

Does Jesus put sin on anybody?

No, you say? Well then he doesn’t put a disease or sickness on them either, but both are from the pit of hell.

If this post has been beneficial to you, you may enjoy our podcast show where we discuss Paul’s thorn in the flesh and kill some sacred cows in the process:

Paul’s Thorn in The Flesh
Download mp3 (right click and save)