Once you have discovered that you are royalty, you must understand how royalty operates. In the kingdom of God it is not about perks, servants, living large, or living in constant comfort with every material desire coming your way. It is about relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit. It is about contentment with what we have. It is about expanding the borders of the kingdom through faith, love, and sometimes war.

To be successful in your role of governing earth on God’s behalf, you must understand that you have authority as a member of the royal family and as an ambassador of Christ. Many believers today have no sense of authority or power in their Christian life. They believe that Jesus has all authority but have no concept that they also walk in authority and should exercise that authority on behalf of their king.

Jesus demonstrated the authority that a man in fellowship with God can wield on the earth. He demonstrated it as Son of Man not as Son of God. We know this to be true because Jesus declared, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn.14:11-15).

Jesus clearly says that those who have faith in him will do what he had been doing which he clearly identifies as his miracles – healing, casting out demons, raising the dead, stilling the storm, etc. He goes on to say that those who have faith will do even greater things than he did. Hard to imagine isn’t it, but that is what he said. As a member of the royal family and as a representative of Jesus on earth (who should re-present Jesus) you should expect Jesus to do miracles through you. If you read the context above, he not only gives you that opportunity but also commands you to ask him to do miracles through you for the glory of the Father.

Jesus modeled his plan for the church by exercising the authority of heaven himself and then delegating that authority to others. First he delegated his authority to those he called apostles. “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness” (Mt.10:1). Secondly, he delegated heavenly authority to a wider circle of followers who go unnamed in the scriptures. “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He 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” (Lk.10:17-20). Snakes and scorpions in this context are metaphors for demonic spirits.

After modeling his “delegation strategy” he continued with his declaration that those who had faith in him (any believer in any century) would do what he had been doing and would do even greater things. He then delegated his power and authority to his church by the distribution of spiritual gifts through his Spirit. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues”(1 Cor. 12:7-10). Notice that power and authority are the benchmarks of the Kingdom. As a member of that Kingdom and the household of God, power and authority are attached to your position. You are appointed in the Kingdom and no appointing comes without anointing. Your anointing is the Holy Spirit who releases power and authority through you.

It’s interesting that we often teach people to pray for healing by asking Jesus to come and heal. That’s not a bad prayer but it is not what Jesus commanded. He told us to go and heal rather than to go and pray and ask him to come and heal. We often approach healing and deliverance like deputies who have been given authority to enforce the law but every time we should make an arrest we locate the criminal but then call the sheriff to come make the arrest. Deputies have been delegated power and authority to enforce the law. We have been given power and authority to enforce the laws of heaven. When we begin to walk in the knowledge of that authority and begin to exercise it for kingdom purposes, then we will be living as royalty.

That is who you are in Christ – appointed, anointed, empowered!

So far, in this series of blogs on healing prayer, I have attempted to make the following points:

• It is the nature and heart of God to heal.
• Illness and disability are the result of sin, directly and indirectly, and fall under “the works of the devil.”
• Although God is willing to heal, there are things that can restrict his response to our prayers.

Issues that may restrict God’s response to healing prayers are: (1) a lack of faith on the part of the one ministering healing or the one receiving healing when there has been ample opportunity for faith to develop. (2) Sin that has not been dealt with through the blood of Christ because it has not been acknowledged or confessed by the one who needs healing. (3) Unforgiveness in the heart of the one needing healing. (4) the failure of those needing healing to even ask for healing.

In addition to the above hindrances to healing, demonic spirits can play a significant role. Numerous times in the gospels, individuals came to Jesus with physical conditions or disabilities such as blindness, deafness, muteness, seizures, back pain, insanity, etc. and Jesus cast out a spirit. Healing then followed the deliverance because the presence of those spirits of manifested as illness. Until a spirit of infirmity is driven out, healing will not occur or will not be sustained.

The spirit is present because something in the life of the individual has given that spirit some ground or legal right to afflict the person. Sometimes the individual has opened the door through unrepented sin or unbelief. Others may be afflicted on the basis of the “sins of the Fathers” or curses spoken over them by those who have had spiritual authority in their lives and sometimes as a result of trauma and fear. In each case, unrepented sin or a curse must be dealt with by confession, repentance, and the blood of Christ so that the authority of the spirit to afflict the individual can be taken away. When that has been accomplished, deliverance can occur and healing may follow.

In addition, there may be times when healing does not occur and we will not know the reason. Those times can be reduced when we help sick people deal with the cause of their illness through a spiritual assessment, repentance, confession and dealing with any spirits who may be manifesting as an illness. When we pray for healing, we typically assume that a spirit may be involved and so simply command any afflicting spirits to leave so that our healing prayers will not be hindered if, in fact, a spirit is the source of the condition.

We need to remember that some supernatural healing is instantaneous while some is progressive. We should not always assume that healing has not occurred if it didn’t happen immediately. Authentic healings can also be lost because of fear and unbelief about healing that did occur. However, experience also tells us that there will still be some mystery as to why some were healed and others were not.

Although some mystery about healing will continue to exist. I am still convinced that healing should be the rule in the church and not the exception. A careful reading of scripture suggests that believers are not immune to illness because we live in a fallen world but when it comes, we can expect healing.

If healing does not occur, we should begin to look for hindrances that have prevented the healing so that God’s grace can flow unobstructed. If we can discover no reason for healing not to occur, and yet someone we love is not healed, our response must be to take no offense at God and continue to pray for others to be healed. If we believe in the supernatural ministry of God, we will have to be willing to live with some unanswered questions while we continue in faith.

In Monday’s blog I will discuss how we pray. Be blessed in Him.

Over the past two weeks I have focused on the biblical promise of healing. Since faith for healing is required for the believer and since faith comes by hearing (and receiving) the word of God, I want to finish this short series by quoting a few verses on which you can begin to build faith for healing. This passage from Proverbs helps us understand how to build our faith.

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. (Prov.4:20-23)

When building faith from the Word we need to give attention to scriptures that speak about the promises for which we need faith. We need to incline our ear or hear the promise by frequently speaking it out loud. We need to see the word or read it and write it out until faith for the promise forms in our heart. We need to keep the promise in the midst of our hearts by meditating on it and by staying away from those who would contradict or discount the promise. The unbelief of others tends to dilute our faith. When faith comes for the promise, then healing and life are released.

Scriptures that point to God’s heart for healing his children

I am the Lord, who heals you. (Ex.15:26)

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. (Isa.53:4-5)

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion (Ps.103:2-4)

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (Mt.1:23)

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. (Mt.4:23-24)

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,   and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Lk.9:1-2)

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ (Lk.10:1, 9)

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (Jn.14:12-14).

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues… they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. (Mk.16:17-18)

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit (1 Cor.12:8-9)

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. (Ja.5:14-15)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet.2:24)

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (3 John 2)

That is my prayer for you. Be blessed and well.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev.3:4-6)

In some ways, Sardis came off as the least pleasing church in the list of churches in Asia. Jesus charged them with living on a reputation that pertained only to the past. He pronounced them spiritually dead and charged them with not completing the work he had given them. He called them to repentance and obedience and warned them that if they did not “wake up” he would come when they least expected it to discipline them.

And yet, he was very aware of the few in their midst who had been faithful and had continued to serve while the rest had abandoned their calling. He described them as those who had not “soiled” their clothes. The Greek word translated as soiled means “to defile by sexual immorality and/or involvement in pagan idolatry.” Those who had coasted to a halt in their passion for Jesus and their service to God had drifted back into a mixture of Christianity and pagan immorality. They kept an appearance of faithfulness and maintained ties with the church but partied with the pagans on weekends.

God knows our hearts, our lives, our works, our secrets, and our sins. We cannot hide our unfaithfulness from him in the midst of the congregation on Sunday nor will our faithfulness go unnoticed even in the midst of the unfaithful. The writer of Hebrews told the faithful Jews, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Notice that God notices.

As difficult as it is to stay on track with the Father in the face of persecution, it is often more difficult to stay on track in a fellowship of lukewarm and dispassionate believers. In that environment, over time it is easy to begin to believe that “lukewarmness” is the standard and is somehow acceptable to the Lord. In his letter to Sardis, Jesus is clear that a casual attitude toward the cross and a double-minded man who tries to dance with the Lord on Sundays while dancing with the world the rest of the week is unacceptable. It’s like a man who sleeps with prostitutes six days and week but comes home declaring faithfulness to his wife on Sundays.

But Jesus declares that the faithful walk with him and they dress in white – the color of righteousness and priesthood. He promises all of us that when we live a life of overcoming the enemy and faithfully remain in the ranks of heaven, we also will be dressed in white. Not only that but those who continue in faithfulness will have their names eternally written in the book of life. Jesus declares that he will personally acknowledge the names of those who do not compromise, who do not become casual or careless, and who do not lose their passion for the kingdom before the Father and his angels.

Too many believers had a heavenly fire in their hearts for a season and served God with energy and passion for a time. But after a few years the kingdom of heaven lost its fascination for them. The riches and pleasures of the world began to glow brighter than the treasures of heaven. Little by little they began to mix the “not so bad” things of the world with the good things of heaven and eventually they simply slipped back in the world while maintaining their “membership” at the local church. Many believers know that their faith is not what is used to be but are banking on God remembering what they used to do when they stand before him. This letter indicates that these “believers” are in a very dangerous place.

We can easily look down on those who have slipped away but we can all be tempted to do the same thing when, after years of going to church, our faith can seem ordinary, humdrum, less rewarding than what the world is offering, and has even become unpopular and criticized in the culture. We must all guard against this “natural erosion” of faith and passion. How can we guard our hearts and keep the fire alive? Be sure you stay around people who still have a fire in their bones for the kingdom. The heat from their fires will keep your embers burning. If your group of believers has settled down and made peace with the world, find a new group. Intentionally risk. Develop a habit of doing “crazy things” for Jesus. Go on mission trips to 3^rd world countries. Pray for the sick at the local HEB. Share your faith with a stranger. Pursue the gift of tongues or prophecy. Consistently do things that are a “little scary.”

Risking things for the kingdom and being around others who risk makes your life in Christ an adventure. It does not get boring or irrelevant. It keeps stoking the fires and the excitement of seeing God do miracles through you makes the promises of the world seem lackluster. I believe that Jesus will not only acknowledge your name before the Father and his angels on the Day of Judgment, but even now as we passionately serve him. Those who serve faithfully now are already known in heaven and your name is already spoken there. Remember when God asked Satan if he had considered Job? Remember the angel who told Daniel that he was already highly esteemed in heaven. If you are living four Jesus, your name is already spoken in the courts of the King. Live in a way to insure that your name never fades in the halls of heaven but is mentioned there often until you arrive in person.  Be blessed.

There is an intimate relationship between joy and hope. While optimism makes us live as if someday soon things will go better for us, hope frees us from the need to predict the future and allow us to live in the present, with the deep trust that God will never leave us alone but will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart. Joy in this perspective is the fruit of hope. When I trust deeply that today God is truly with me and holds me safe in a divine embrace, guiding everyone of my steps, I can let go of my anxious need to know how tomorrow will look, or what will happen next month or next year. I can be fully where I am and pay attention to the many signs of God’s love within me and around me. (Henri Nouwen, Here and Now, p.33)

I like what Nouwen has said in this paragraph but I also believe his last statement is much broader than joy. We need to look for the evidence of God’s love in the smallest and largest of things because our greatest need is to truly believe we are deeply loved by our Father and our Creator. The thing that keeps nibbling away at my faith and that keeps me from asking for outlandish things is that I’m not sure that he loves me enough to keep me safe and do those things for me.

The thing that keeps me from embracing my position in heaven and walking confidently in the gifts of the Spirit is my awareness of my failings and my doubt that God loves me all that much because of those failings. I then live with the sense that if God doesn’t love me all that much he won’t give me the gifts I hunger for nor be there for me when I try to exercise those gifts. I fear he will be an absent or indifferent father to me.

The other huge thing my doubt affects is my ability to love. My experience tells me that we can’t love others if we doubt that we ourselves are loved by someone significant to us. Knowing that God loves me is everything. Noticing all the ways he loves me confirms that love in my heart and when I have love I can give love.

We can easily become like the older son in the parable of the prodigal who is so caught up in the day to day business of life that he failed to notice how his father loved him and provided for him every day. Then, when he realized he hadn’t been given a big party, he decided that his father didn’t love him at all. So often we ignore the myriad of things God does for us and then decide in one moment that he has never loved us when one disappointment comes our way.

Think about the little things. Smell the roses and the coffee. The little prayers that were answered as well as the big ones. They are both from God. Thank him for every little thing and the big things will take care of themselves. When I come to truly believe that the God of Heaven loves me deeply and thinks about me continuously, I will walk across this planet with hope, joy and the confidence of knowing that I am his.

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.             Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10)

This account of Peter and John healing a man at the temple gait contains a principal that we need to remember as we minister to the world around us. There are things that we can do for people in our own strength that will satisfy their apparent need but there are things we can do in the power of the Spirit that will go far beyond what they can imagine.

This is the story of a man whose vision for life was to accept his disability as inevitable and then to live with his limitations by getting bits and pieces of what the world could offer him. His view of life was that the best he could hope for was enough money to buy food and drink for a day.   He had someone, on whom he was dependent, carry him to the temple gate each day because he believed that his best hope for charity was from those who were going up to worship God. His view of that was correct but his view of what God could or would do for him was limited to the flesh. His hope was simply that God would touch a heart to share a little money for the day. Perhaps, he saw his hope that God would provide his daily bread every day for the rest of his life as faith pleasing to God and, perhaps, it was.   The problem wasn’t the faith it was the vision.

That is true for many of us. We have been taught that God will only work through natural means to meet our needs or to advance the kingdom. So we pray for doctors to do their best. We pray for a good job to meet the needs of our families. We pray for rain when the skies are already full of clouds. There is nothing wrong with these prayers except that we are asking God to guarantee what would likely happen in the natural even without his intervention. Sometimes our view of the miraculous is only one shade different from the natural. I don’t deny that God often works in the natural but I also believe he wants us to have a greater vision than that.

When Abraham and Sarah were told that they would give birth to a son in their late years they eventually defaulted to pursuing God’s promise in the natural. Growing impatient with God’s timetable, Abraham fathered a child with Hagar, a servant of Sarah’s who was a younger woman. When Ishmael was born, Abraham wanted to call God’s promise good but God rejected Ishmael because he was not the child of promise. In other words, the birth of Ishmael was not beyond the scope of what could happen in the natural. Older men had fathered children before. But what about a woman long past menopause? That would require a miracle and so in God’s timing Abraham fathered a son through Sarah. That was Isaac, the supernatural child of promise.

In the story of Peter and John, the man asked for a contribution to the poor. What he got was far beyond his vision of what God would do for him. Instead of a pocket change, he received a new set of legs. Peter and John’s vision of what God was willing to do set the stage for a miracle that brought praise to God because only God could have done what the crowds witnessed with their own eyes. Too many of us serve God in our own strength and ask him to simply bless what we do. That’s not bad but there is something much better. That something is to ask God to do through us what only he can do – something that is impossible for us to do in our own strength and in our own talents.

Even the world can do amazing things in its own strength – remember the Tower of Babel. Even atheists and worshippers of false Gods can build great buildings, feed the poor, fund research, and entertain us in amazing ways. Certainly followers of Christ should provide great architecture, feed the poor, and fund research but at the same time we should ask for more and ask God to do things through us that no man can do. That is what separates Jesus from every other name. That is what identifies Jesus as the only name under heaven by which men can be saved. Our view is that silver and gold given to good causes is a good thing but God is willing to go far beyond that when our vision goes far beyond that.

Today, lets ask God to not only empower men to do the possible with excellence but let’s ask him to do the impossible so that men will give him praise and the name of Jesus will be exalted.  Today’s word – Expect miracles.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with them.  (2 Ti.3:1-5)

Although these descriptors perfectly match our culture, the apostle Paul penned these words to his young protégé Timothy nearly 2000 years ago. The phrase ”last days” does not necessarily mean the end of times since biblically we have been in the last days or the last age since the day of Pentecost when the church was launched. In Peter’s sermon on Pentecost he quoted Joel who said, “In the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all men…” The “last days” began with that pouring out.  More likely Paul was warning that their would be times and seasons during this last age before the return of Messiah when cultures and men would be corrupt and that such corruption would seep into the church.

When I read those descriptors my first thought was that Paul was describing  unbelievers in a fallen world.  But in context he seems to be warning Timothy that there would be individuals in the church who also fit that description and it was those whom Timothy was to avoid.  The final quality of these men reveals that they will have a “form of godliness but will deny its power.”  What exactly does that mean and is it a warning for us today as it was for Timothy in the early years of the church?

The word “form” here seems to mean “an outward appearance.”   These individuals would have an outward appearance of godliness or religion but would secretly deny its substance.  These could be church leaders who simply lead portions of the church for the financial gain, status, or the praise of men that leadership role offered. Behind closed doors they would treat their role as a job, an opportunity or a “gig.”  There faith would be in themselves and they would use and discard people to accomplish their own ends and to build their personal empire.   Ultimately they would view God, judgment, and the Holy Spirit as a kind of myth that they would espouse publically but not take seriously.  Behind closed doors they would love money, comfort, and hidden immoralities.  Ultimately these men are always exposed but the exposure brings reproach on the church and sends hundreds or thousands of disillusioned believers into the streets wondering if any Christian leader  can be trusted.

This paragraph could also point to leaders of culture: education, business, politics, etc. who might publically claim to be followers of Christ and, therefore, moral  – but behind closed doors in backroom meetings are as worldly and cynical as those who make no such claims. These men use God as a prop but deny the power of the kingdom of God.

Each of these groups may believe in a God in some vague way but do not believe that God will ultimately judge the wicked or judge nations. They believe they can act without consequence and that true believers are really just suckers living in world of delusion.  Neither do they believe that there is a God in heaven who orchestrates lives and nations and that watches over the truly godly with his power and even entrusts his power – real power – to those who love him.  I believe we live in a season where both groups are profoundly represented in our society.   Not only that, but many believers who are moral believe that we are to serve God in our own strength and expect no miraculous interventions from heaven. The power of godliness for them resides only in the past.  Unfortunately, many unbelievers define Christianity by these people who carry the banner but not the reality or substance of the kingdom.

It is times like these that the power of godliness operating in the church is more critical than ever.  This power begins, of course, with faith but is also sustained by holiness. In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira treat the Holy Spirit as inconsequential and bring deceit into the church. As a result God judges them and they die  -in church – in front of everyone.  We are told that great fear seized the church following that episode but also that great signs and wonders abounded and the church exploded with growth.  We also see the church being very countercultural and when political leaders told them that they could not teach or preach in the name of Jesus they simply prayed for boldness because they were committed to please God rather than men. We are told that after times of prayer and fasting when the church prayed for boldness to stand against the culture, God shook the earth and displayed his power through the church.

We live in a world where homosexual athletes and celebrities who have “come out of the closet” are celebrated and treated as heroes while sincerely committed Christians who play on the same fields and stand on the same stages are ridiculed and discriminated against.   We cannot slip into a form of godliness but deny the power of godliness ourselves by simply rolling over and giving in to the culture.  Holiness, faith, and a total commitment to please God and speak up for him must become the descriptors of this generation of believers or this nation will continue to slide into the abyss and at an accelerated rate.  So today be bold, be holy, count on the power of God and be blessed  in His name.

One of the things I notice as search for the web sites of writers and pastors that I appreciate is that there is always a sprinkling of sights around them accusing them of heresy and of being false prophets. This is especially true of churches and pastors who minister in the fullness of the Spirit and who preach that God still moves in miraculous ways in the 21^st century.

I am often saddened by the harshness expressed in these sights that almost reflect hatred toward those who seek more of the Spirit and who have not embraced a theology that jettisoned the power of God for the church some 2000 years ago.  Undoubtedly we are not to accept every teaching that is presented to the church without question.  John specifically instructs us to test the spirits and Jesus tells us to evaluate the prophets. So lets look at some biblical guidelines for doing that and see how our critical brethren stand up.

1. Test the spirits to see whether they are from God.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (1 Jn.4:1-3).

False prophets in the New Testament are accused of three things primarily.  The first is false doctrines about Christ – whether or not he is the sinless Son of God, whether or not he actually came in the flesh and actually died and whether there was a physical resurrection. A number of heresies in the 1^st century denied those truths and so N.T. writers warned of such false teachings.

2. False prophets and false teachers attempted to install legalism in the church again rather than grace.  Initially, some orthodox Jewish teachers were trying to talk the followers of Christ into resubmitting to the Law of Moses as a requirement for salvation.  They didn’t deny that Jesus was the Messiah; they simply denied that salvation was by grace and faith alone rather than by keeping strict religious codes.  Later, false prophets with a Greek influence did the same forbidding marriage and laying down dietary laws and extreme self-denial as requirements to make believers acceptable to God. (See 1 Tim.4:1-5).

3. Some false prophets came preaching a grace that ignored the righteousness of God. These teachers encouraged the notion of sinning all you want because God’s grace will cover whatever you do.  These teachers taught that immorality was not an issue because you were saved by what you knew rather than by how you live.  We are not saved by how we live but the new birth and the indwelling Spirit prompt us to righteous living as evidence of our salvation. Those who “sin all the more that grace may abound” simply do not have the Spirit operating within them.

Another major issue in the church has always been division.  Those who cause division are to be marked and the church is to have nothing to do with such men. (See Titus 3:10).  There are many who believe that unity in the body is based on everyone being in doctrinal lock-step with one another and that any doctrines that vary from their own are heresies.  Yet Paul is very clear that we are to “accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters.” Paul goes on to discuss faith and dietary preferences (vegetarians versus those who eat meat) and keeping one day holy or all days the same (See Rom.14:1-23) Remarkably, Paul says that believers can hold different views on dietary restrictions, holy days, what you can drink, etc. and each believer is acceptable to God. He says that we are not to judge one another in such matters.  Unity and love for one another take priority over disputable matters.

Jesus warned about false prophets and said that by their fruits you will know them.  From our list we could produce a criteria for fruit inspection that should reveal true and false prophets:

1.  Do they teach the truth about Jesus?

2.  Do they teach salvation based on faith and grace rather than works or a strict orthodoxy of belief in all facets of the faith?

3.  Do they call people to righteous living?

4.  Do they have grace for others in disputable matters?

5. Do they promote unity rather than division?

6.  Do they draw people to Jesus or push people away?

7. Since they speak for God, do they reflect the Spirit and character of Christ in all they do – love, joy peace, patience, gentleness, etc.?

I have to say, that the accusers on many websites seen to fit the criteria for false prophets more than the accused.  Their statements are vitriolic rather than loving, patient, and kind. They judge and promote division more than they accept one another  – especially regarding disputable matters such as miracles, prophecy, healing, tongues, etc.  I doubt that they have followed Matthew 18:15 which clearly states that if you have a problem with a brother you must first go and speak to him in private without airing the matter publically.  They tend to undermine faith in those who believe that God still works with power on behalf of his children and they often present a legalistic approach to salvation as they insist that we must all believe every biblical doctrine in the same way in order to be acceptable to God.

I can also tell you that those who believe in the present day power and move of the Spirit see more healings, more radical life transformation, more addictions broken, and more strongholds demolished than those who deny the power of God in these matters.  Good Fruit = Good Tree (See Matt.7:17).  I want to be clear that I am not condemning churches who don’t believe in the full ministry of the Holy Spirit.  Many of these churches are full of people who love Jesus, serve the poor, stand up for the unborn, and share their faith with others.  I wish that they would experience all the Spirit has for them but these are faithful believers.  My problem is with those who seem to carry on witch hunts and publically condemn faithful men and women who serve God and understand some scriptures differently while standing firm on doctrines about Jesus, salvation by grace, and righteous living.  I want to encourage you to not automatically reject the prophets and healers of today because of the accusations and criticisms you see on the Internet.

See what these men and women teach about the essentials of our faith, abut holy living, and see what fruit their ministries bear. Pray about it and see what the Spirit deposits in your heart about these servants of God before rejecting those who simply seek more of the Spirit.  Be blessed.

I had a good friend in the Lord text me this morning about having met with a young believer recently who passionately insisted that God no longer speaks to his people apart from the Bible.  I was schooled in that theology for many years and know the warnings attached to it about the devil deceiving us if we receive any direction other than from the Word of God. The expression I always heard was that the Holy Spirit only speaks through scripture in this day and age.  Since we have the completed text of the Bible we need nothing else.

The idea is imbedded in the whole Cessationist view that God no longer works miracles as he did in the Bible and the Holy Spirit no longer bestows the power gifts of healing, prophecy, tongues, miracles, etc. as he did for the New Testament church.  The idea is that God only operated in those ways to confirm that Jesus was his Son and that those who wrote the Bible were indeed inspired. Once the New Testament was completed there was no further need for the miraculous since the record of such miracles should be sufficient. God speaking to men apart from his written word seems to land in that category of the miraculous so he must not act in those ways any longer.

Those who follow this view divide biblical history up into dispensations or eras in which God operated differently – especially the dispensations of the Old Covenant and the New. One was a covenant of Law, an earthly priesthood, the temple, animal sacrifices, and so forth.  The New Covenant is the era of grace, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, Jesus and the church without an earthly priesthood and animal sacrifices.  A mindset that divides the Bible into neat modules of time then leads one to ask how God will act differently in this age than he did before and so this theology ascribes miracles to times past but not today including God speaking to people apart for his written word.

Here is the problem I have with that view.  The attributes or the nature of God does not change in any dispensation.  Some attributes and some activities span all of history because they reflect who God is.   God expects righteousness in every generation and dispensation.  His call for sacrifice began just this side of the Garden of Eden and extends through all time by the eternal blood of the lamb and our lives (living sacrifices) and worship.  He has always operated as a covenant God and has always pursued a chosen people.  When we see God’s attributes in every dispensation recorded in scripture them we must believe that he displays those same attributes today unless there is a clear commandment to the contrary.

We can argue about many things but God has always spoken to his people apart from the written Word.  Of course, Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob preceded the written Law handed down on Sinai. But, since Elohim is relational and relationships have always been formed through personal, two-way communication, he spoke to the patriarchs and their sons.  Once the Law was given we could argue that Moses and Israel had the written record that was all they needed to live for God and keep his commandments.  But in addition, God gave Israel the Tent of Meeting where he could be sought out for personal communication. Even though Israel had the written word, he spoke apart form the written word to Moses, Joshua, all the judges, the prophets, and often priests.  He spoke to simple carpenters, virgins, and elderly widows who spent their time in the temple courts.  He spoke by his Spirit, by angels, by fleeces, by prophets, and so forth apart form the written word – the Torah.

In the New Testament we see the same pattern. God speaking to people through angels, dreams, visions, prophets, and his Spirit and these people were not all apostles or writers of the New Testament.  They were people who needed a specific word beyond what could be found in the scriptures.  In Acts 1, Peter declared that they must appoint an apostle to take the place of Judas.  Jesus had given them all the qualifications for an apostle but when the moment came they had a problem.  The word Jesus had already given them was not sufficient because they had two men qualified to be apostles but only one position. So…they asked God to speak to them apart from the Word that had already been given because only God knew the hearts of the men who were apparently both qualified.  They cast lots and Mathias was chosen.

We have the same dilemma time after time in our own lives. We love the Word, study the Word, and derive principals for godly living form that Word.  But on occasion we need more than principals – we need a clear word of direction or “leading” from the Lord. To say that we sensed God’s leading from circumstances is to admit that God gives us direction apart form his word in miraculous ways Even Cessationists pray for leading and direction in marriage, selection of pastors, missions, and so forth. Why not just look in the book?

It’s because we need a specific word for a specific circumstance and the written word cannot tell us whether to turn left or right.  If God leads apart form the Word through circumstances, or dreams, provision, or open and closed doors then he communicates apart from his Word.  Hearing his voice is not different. And we should not be surprised because God has spoken to his people in that way on nearly every page of the Bible as an example of his hunger for relationship with his children. To say he spoke from Genesis to Revelation apart from a written word but became silent as soon as the last apostle died is to deny the very nature and the patterns of God across the ages.  Even those who don’t believe God speaks hear him.  They simply don’t know that what they are hearing is from the Father. They miss so much and miss so much of the relationship.  My hope is that you hear from him today – through his written word and in many other ways.  Listen…. God is speaking.   Be blessed.

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples (Jn 15:7-8)

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (Jn.17:1-5).

Both of the above quotes come from the gospel of John as Jesus moved quickly toward the cross.  They were spoken in the upper room and both contained thoughts about glorifying the Father by fulfilling our purposes on the earth. The first simply affirms a clear expectation that followers of Jesus will produce a great deal of fruit while serving the Father in this life and in doing so will bring glory to him.  The second affirms that Jesus himself brought glory to the Father by completing the work the Father had given him to do.

In Ephesians 2, Paul echoed these thoughts when he said that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which have been prepared in advance for us to do. This might be one definition of our “destiny in Christ.”  That destiny would simply be to complete all the work that the Father has assigned to us in this lifetime.  Remember that in John 14 Jesus declared that those who believe in him would not only do the things that he had been doing but would do even greater things because he was going to the Father.  His words suggest that every believer has a great destiny and that the works God has prepared in advance for each of us are not insignificant but are of such importance and impact that they will bring glory to the Father.

In summary Jesus said that God has ordained eternally significant things for each of us to do – things greater than Jesus did;  that we are expected to bear much fruit to the glory of the Father; and that our goal, like Jesus,  should be to complete all the work the Father has given us for that glorifies him as well.  If that is true then the question becomes how much of that work will we leave undone that was ours to do?

From the casual approach to serving God that many believers seem to take, there may be miles of warehouses standing empty in heaven that were constructed to contain all the fruit produced by those who believe – but much of the harvest never occurred. All of us, I’m sure, pass up some of the “good works prepared in advance” for us.  We miss the opportunities in the busyness of our lives or just turn them down on days that we feel weary or are distracted by the things of this world – not sinful things, just things.  But surely our hearts should long to bear as much fruit as possible for the one who died for us.

I and a few others got to pray with a great  lady yesterday who desired to receive a gift of healing.  I loved her spirit.  Even though she was retirement age she has no intention of retiring from service in the kingdom. She simply wants everything Jesus has provided for her so that she can fulfill everything God has ordained for her. The apostle Paul said that we should earnestly desire spiritual gifts because those gifts are necessary to bear the fruit in our lives that glorifies God. Spiritual gifts go beyond natural talent.  Though they may look the same at times, the results must be very different. One impacts the temporary while the other impacts the eternal.

Without the power of the Holy Spirit fueling what we do, we can produce no more for God than what unbelievers can produce for themselves or their worldly organizations.  In his own strength man can do impressive things – great buildings, great programs, great music, great drama, great marketing, great performances.  Sometimes, churches do impressive things – but in their own strength rather than in the power of the Spirit. I think Jesus had more in mind than that. When Pharaoh’s magicians could no longer match the miracles that God was doing through Moses, they finally said… “ This is the finger of God. “

I believe that should be true for the church. What we do by the power of the Spirit is not something that man should be able to do in his own strength.  The works that bring glory to God must go beyond that otherwise they simply point to the glory of man.  As believers we should never be satisfied with the ordinary but should desire every insight, every revelation, every gift, every dream, and every encounter that Jesus has purchased for us with his blood so that we might complete every work God has given us to do and do it in a way the honors the King of Heaven.  To settle for less devalues the sacrifice of Jesus.  You may want to reflect on that this Easter week.  Be blessed.