It is significant that God gave gifts of healing to the church. “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…” (I Cor.12:9, emphasis added).   “Gifts of healing” are mentioned two more times in I Corinthians 12. It is significant because God gave gifts to the church that reflected his nature, his heart, and his Spirit. God gave gifts of healing to the church because he wanted his people healed and unbelievers brought to Jesus through the grace of healing.

It is also important because some believe that “miraculous gifts” were given only to Jesus and the apostles to confirm the deity of Christ and to establish credibility for those through whom the Spirit would pen the inspired Word of God. If that had been God’s only intent he would have given healing gifts only to the Jesus and the apostles but he gave these gifts to numerous unnamed individuals in the church who wrote none of the New Testament. Yet they healed.

It is interesting that he gave gifts (plural) of healing. The heart of God desires to heal all kinds of hurts and illness in our lives for he is Jehovah Rapha. Jesus not only came to heal the sick but also to “heal the broken hearted” (Isa.61, Lk.4). I believe God gives gifts of healing to his church that minister not only to sick people but also to emotional pain, broken relationships, and demonic affliction. In the gospels the term “healing” was applied to illnesses, physical disabilities, casting out demons, and the healing of broken hearts or emotions.   Different individuals in the body of Christ seem to be spiritually gifted in different ways to address all these areas of pain and brokenness. If God is the God who heals us, it makes sense that his Spirit will equip the saints to heal people in all the ways that Jesus healed them.   Again we can be confident that it is God’s desire to alleviate pain and suffering in this world through healing since he equipped his church to do so in many forms.

Another interesting perspective on healing gifts held by many is that the gift of miracles ministers instantaneous healing while healing gifts release more gradual healing that occurs over days or weeks. Either way healing occurs but sometimes we place a standard on spiritual gifts that the Bible does not state. If we believe that all supernatural healing is instantaneous then we may miss much of what God is doing. I have heard numerous men with powerful gifts of healing and miracles say that probably 50% of those for whom they pray that are healed, experience healing over the next few days rather than immediately. I wonder how many of us have gifts of healing that we are unaware of because people we prayed for got better the next day so we didn’t see it or because they did not report it to us, so we assume nothing happened in response to our prayers. We then assume God has not given us the gift. Perhaps, we need to pray for the gift of miracles as well as gifts of healing.

Gifts of healing differ from prayers for healing. The gift resides with the person. Like other gifts such as mercy, administration, wisdom, prophecy, etc. the gift rests on the person. The Spirit may not always release power for the gift because of conditional restraints (lack of faith, unrepented sin, unforgiveness, etc.) but the gift resides and will impart healing when conditions are met.

In addition to gifts of healing, James counsels us to call the elders of the church if anyone is sick and assures us that their prayer of faith will restore that person to health. He then goes on to give a general admonition to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that we might be healed (James 5:16). He did not say we should confess that we might be forgiven but rather that we might be healed. The admonitions seem to be for all believers not just those with gifts of healing so that any believer can pray for another believer who has dealt with sin issues in his or her life and anticipate healing.

The tenor of the New Testament is that when believers got sick, they were typically healed. When people were not healed it raised questions because healing was the norm not the exception. To the contrary, the American church wonders what happened when someone is healed. Again, my point is that God has given healing gifts to his church because he wants people healed and so is quite willing to give the gifts or answer our prayers of faith. May we have a hunger for those gifts and faith to step out and pray with confidence because we know it is God’s will for hurting people.

I’ve been asked to write a few blogs related to healing prayer so I want to honor that request and take whatever time is needed to cover the subject succinctly yet thoroughly. I will begin with the basis for healing prayer followed by a discussion of healing gifts, things that get in the way of healing, and then how to pray. I’m not an expert nor to I have a gift of healing but I have prayed for some who have been healed immediately and others who have been healed after some time has passed. I have learned a great deal about the subject from those who are gifted in healing and from the scriptures so I will share my best understanding of the issues involved.

First of all, faith is the basis for everything in the kingdom. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb.11:6). In the realm of healing there is one primary truth upon which healing stands – the character or nature of God. If I doubt the goodness of God and his love for people, then I will have no confidence that God will answer my prayer for healing – either for others or myself. My prayer cannot be offered with faith in my own righteousness or good works or in the righteousness and good works of others. I cannot have faith in my faith. As soon as I enter into he realm of my worthiness to be healed or someone else’s worthiness the question arises of how much faith, how much righteousness, and how many good works are enough and that questions introduces either doubt or pride. God does not owe anyone healing because they have earned the right. He heals because he is good. He heals because he is love. Even with our fallen nature, we yearn to see those we love healed from sickness and affliction. How much more does God love us?

Then the question is asked, “Well…aren’t God’s ways and thoughts higher than our ways and thoughts? So isn’t it possible that God views sickness and disability differently than we view them? Couldn’t those things be for our greater good and so might they not be an expression of love and goodness in ways we can’t understand?” The answer is “No.” I’m not saying that God can’t use calamity and sickness for good. He does so all the time. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom.8:28). The sense of that verse is that God will intervene in bad situations caused by life in a fallen world or by demonic attack and ultimately make them sources of “good” in our lives because he loves us. That is not the same as causing the bad situation or being the source of sickness.

Illness in scripture is always attributed to sin and rebellion in the world or in the lives of God’s people and each warning carries a promise to heal when God’s people return to him. Even under the Old Covenant, God promised health as a blessing. We live under a better covenant. Not once did God ever promise sickness or disability as a blessing to the faithful. Jehovah Rapha is the “God who heals you.” It is God’s nature to bless and to heal and so he delights in doing so when conditions for healing are met.

Jesus has been known for 2000 years as the great physician because he healed hearts and bodies throughout his ministry. We have no record of anyone coming to Jesus for healing and being turned down. We have no record of Jesus laying hands on anyone and imparting sickness or commanding a healthy person to become lame for his spiritual benefit. Jesus told Philip that whoever had seen him had seen the Father (Jn. 14:9). Whoever had seen the compassion and the heart of Jesus expressed toward the lost, the hurting, the sick and the demon oppressed has seen the heart of the Father. Jesus came to destroy the work of the devil. When he constantly healed the sick and made healing a mark of the kingdom, he identified sickness as a work of the devil.

When we pray for healing, we must have faith that the goodness of God and his love for people makes him agreeable to our prayer. There may be things that hinder God’s response, which we will discuss later, but our faith for healing must simply rest on the fact that God is a good and loving Father and fathers have no desire to see their children sick or suffering. Before praying, make up your mind that God is willing to heal because that is who he is. Jesus demonstrated the Father’s willingness to heal over and over again. Be blessed.

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. (Psalm 145:8-9)

F.F. Bosworth wrote, “The first statement in our text above is, ‘The LORD is gracious,’ meaning ‘He is disposed to show favors.’ This glorious fact, which shines with such brilliancy throughout the Scriptures, has been so eclipsed by modern theology that we hear everywhere, the Lord is able instead of ‘the LORD is gracious.” Hundreds needing healing have come or written to us saying, concerning their need of deliverance, ‘the Lord is able.’ Their teachings as well as their lack of teaching, have kept them from knowing that the Lord is willing. How much faith does it take to say the Lord is able? The devil knows God is able, and he knows He is willing; but he has kept the people from knowing the latter fact. … Before praying for the healing of people, we have to wait to teach them the Word of God until they can say, “The LORD is gracious,” instead of, ‘The Lord is willing.’ This is exactly what Jesus had to do before healing the leper who said, ‘If thou wilt thou canst.’ He showed His willingness, so that the man could really expect healing…But even when we can advance from saying ‘He is able’ to saying ‘He is willing,’ this is not enough. The word willing is too tame to fully express God’s merciful attitude toward us. ‘He delighteth in mercy’ (Micah 7:18).” ((F.F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer, Revell, 9^th Edition, p.68-69).

Those observations were made years ago but are still quite true today. In your own prayer life you have probably been convinced that God is able to do anything you ask but you are not so convinced that he is willing. Even when we pray for others we may list all of their great qualities and the works they have done for the Lord as we pray for God’s favor for healing or safety or provision in their lives. In one sense, we lift up their resume because we feel we must make a case for them in order to persuade God to meet their need at the moment. We know he is able but we are not sure he is willing.

Faith is simply believing that God will do what he has said he will do based on his character rather than on our character or our performance. The fact that God is “The God who heals you” and delights in showing favor (mercy) to those he loves is the foundation of our faith for healing. God does not have to be persuaded to heal. He does so because he delights to do so. There are conditions, of course, for receiving healing. For those who should have faith, some faith is required. For those who have known the grace of God, grace must be extended to others through forgiveness. For those who have been given the standing of righteousness in Christ, there must be a heart that desires to be righteous and that is given to repentance because of that. Faith tells us that the compassionate heart of Jesus still desires to heal now just as it did when he was on the earth. He will work with us to make sure that hindrances to our healing are removed if our hearts are turned toward him and if we have some faith for healing because we know his character. For those who do not know Christ at all, healing may be given simply out of his kindness because the kindness of God calls men to repentance.

Before praying for healing, reflect on the goodness of God and his delight in showing favor. Remind yourself that he is anxious to heal unless roadblocks exist in the spiritual realm and that he will show us what those things are so that he can do the very thing he desires to do. He is certainly able, but more than that he is willing. Even more than being willing, he delights in answering our prayers. If we can ever get that single truth into our hearts, we will certainly see God heal. Ask the Spirit to give you a deep revelation of that truth and keep asking until you have no doubt.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (Jn.10:10)

For many followers of Jesus this is a familiar passage and yet the two parts are often quoted separately as stand alone passages. We quote one to characterize the devil. Then we quote the other to talk about the great life Jesus wants us to have. But the power is in the contrast between the two and it was the contrast that Jesus wanted to emphasize.

The nature of the enemy is to rob you of every good thing the Lord has purposed for you. His goal is to take away what is rightfully yours, to destroy what he can’t take, and to take your life if he is able. There is no mercy from the kingdom of darkness and there is no good will of any kind. Anything that comes from the enemy that tastes sweet is simply a chocolate covering for the poison pill inside. Anything that comes from the devil that feels like a blessing is simply bait to get you to step further into his trap so that when he springs the trap there is no escape. That’s what he does; that’s who he is. We need to know that because too many of us think we can bargain with him or play on his playground without consequence.

On the other hand we have Jesus. This scripture is in the context of the Good Shepherd who lays his life down for the sheep. In the midst of that dialogue he tells us that he came so that we might have life and have it abundantly or have it to the full. The word in the original language means superabundant, excessive, over-the-top, so much more than you need, etc. Notice that the enemy is in it totally for himself, for personal power, and for personal revenge. Jesus is in it totally for you and so totally that he died so that you might inherit everything that was his – so that you might live in super-abundance.

That’s great news but most of us don’t feel as if we are living a superabundant, excessive, over-the-top life. There are at least two reasons for that. First of all we hunger after things that have no value in heaven. They are temporary and inferior to everything in the heavenly realm. If we measure abundance by cars, homes, vacations, possessions, power, etc. then we are measuring abundance by the things thrown out in the streets in heaven. Jesus came that we might have true riches – love, acceptance, peace, purpose, his Spirit, communion with the Father, power and authority from on high given to us to invest so that others might also have an abundant life in Christ.

Abundance comes through a state of heavenly blessing resting on us. That blessedness does not come through out achievements but by the grace of God for those whose hope is in Jesus. Remember the beatitudes – blessed are the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, those who mourn, those who are merciful, those who make peace, etc. In the natural realm those qualities are a formula for poverty not abundance. But in the kingdom of heaven they bring favor, peace and a joy that surpasses anything the world can offer. In that state we also are entrusted with spiritual riches, gifts of the Spirit, communion with the Father, his presence and his protection.

The second reason we don’t experience abundance is that we don’t expect it or have faith for it. We continually fall into the trap of believing that God’s blessings are only for those who deserve them – the super-spiritual get the super-abundance. But that is not the nature of God or the kingdom of heaven. Jesus has purchased the abundant life for every believer not just for the over-achievers. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t strive to live for Jesus in extraordinary ways, but the abundant life is what helps us achieve that lofty goal. God is not holding out, he is simply holding on to the riches of heaven until we desire what he has to offer and know that those things, like salvation, come by grace.

If we think money, homes, cars, dream vacations, fame and influence are the abundant life then why do those who have such things line up for rehab centers, live on anti-depressants, and go through marriages like teenagers through pizza? Satan sells snake oil. He promises that all the things above will satisfy your soul once you get them by any means necessary. But that million-dollar feeling that comes from what is temporary by nature is itself temporary and in the morning the pursuit begins all over again.

Jesus offers his abundance for free and his abundance doesn’t leave you thirsty or hungry in the morning. Isn’t what he offers worth pursuing? We begin by giving up our pursuit of worldly things.   Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be given to you. We begin by rethinking what we really want. What every man really wants is love, significance, peace and purpose. We think the things of the world will eventually get us what we truly want and so we pursue while Jesus asks us to simply sit with him and he will give us those things freely. That is the abundant life.

In order for someone to find freedom in Christ, that individual must recognize and acknowledge the sin in his/her life.  Unrepented sin gives the enemy legal access to our lives because in those areas that we have roped off for ourselves and our flesh, we are in agreement with Satan.

To help people find their freedom in Christ we must learn how to help people deal with the sin that is usually so apparent to others but not always apparent to them.  In addition, we must do so in love.  In everything we do, we must follow the lead of the Savior of all men and the one who has shown us the heart of the Father.  As we look at the life and ministry of Jesus, however, we find two or three general responses to sin and at times they seem to be quite contradictory.

Most of us love the response of Jesus to the sins of the woman at the well (Jn.4:1-26) and the woman taken in adultery (Jn.8: 1-11).  In both of those settings Jesus encounters women whose lives have been marked with sin.  The Samaritan woman of John 4 seems to have had a reputation in her village that had gained her the status of outcast. She had lived with a number of husbands and was simply living with her latest lover.  According to John, Jesus was resting at the well about noon when the woman showed up to draw water.  Traditionally the women of the village would have come to the well in the cool of the morning and the evening rather than in the heat of the day.  Perhaps, she came at noon to avoid the other women of the village. The woman described in John 8 was a woman caught in the very act of adultery who doesn’t bother to argue her innocence even when her life is on the line.

In both cases the gentleness and mercy of Jesus is almost overwhelming. In both cases Jesus acknowledges the sin in the lives of each woman but almost in passing.  Instead he emphasizes the grace and forgiving nature of God.  He points them to a better life but in no way shames them or condemns them as they go on their way.  That is the Jesus most of us love and are comfortable with – the Jesus who says little about sin but just points people to the grace of God.

But in his gospel, John describes another moment when Jesus heals a man who had been lame for thirty-eight years.  This man had spent his days begging at the pool of Bethesda.  In a moment of compassion, Jesus saw the man and healed him.  It is such a quick moment that the man doesn’t even discover who has healed him.  But John tells us that later in the day, Jesus found the man in the temple area and privately warned him to “stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (Jn.5:14).   In this case Jesus gives a private rebuke to a sinful man so that he might find eternal life and not lose the healing he had received for “the kindness of God calls us to repentance” (Rom.2:4).

Finally, we are all aware of the sharp confrontations Jesus had with the Pharisees. With these men he was not gentle nor did he give a private rebuke.  He scolded them in public and called them sons of Satan (Jn.8:44), a brood of vipers (Mt.12), blind guides (Mt.23) and  more.

So how do we reconcile these encounters if we are to do all things in love? If Jesus came to seek and to save the lost why is he gentle with some and scathing with others?  I believe that the common ground of each encounter was the redemptive motive of Jesus.  His goal for all three types of sinner was redemption and that goal was motivated by love.  Remember, we are called to love even those we don’t like.

To the women, Jesus took on a priestly role of dispensing hope, gentleness, grace and forgiveness. These women were quite aware of their sins and already carried their own burden of shame for the lives they had been leading.  Jesus had no need to convince them of their sinfulness. He needed to convince them that the great and holy God of Israel was willing to forgive and embrace them despite their sinful past.

That was the message they needed to hear. To the lame man Jesus seemed to take a middle ground of demonstrating God’s mercy but then confronting his sin in a personal way so not to humiliate the man. In a sense, this man needed to be reminded that God’s mercy was not released into his life so that he could continue to be the man that he was before he was healed. He needed to be reminded that the grace of God call us to a different life.    In that case, Christ took a position somewhere between priest and prophet and brought grace with a word of warning.

When facing the Pharisees who trusted in their own righteousness and who were blinded to their sins by a spiritual arrogance, Jesus came in the spirit of the prophets with a get-in-your face rebuke and a call to repentance.  Though it was harsh it was still an attempt to redeem these men.

So in helping men and women deal with their sins there are times to be very priestly, times to be very prophetic, and times to stand somewhere in between.  For many, it will be very apparent which approach to take in order to help them find freedom.  For others it will take a clear leading of the Spirit.  One approach will easily fit our temperament while the other will be very foreign to us but discernment and flexibility is key.   Jesus did not love some and hate others.  He simply knew which approach was most redemptive in the moment – not only to the one he was dealing with but to the ones who were watching.

However, we do it, we must help people discern and acknowledge their sin and their brokenness if they are to be healed and set free.  Think about what is most needed and the spirit in which it must be ministered the next time God puts someone in your life that needs the grace and the healing touch of Jesus and may the Lord bless you today.

One of the most sobering passages in the New Testament is spoken by Jesus in Luke 11:37-53.  The NIV places a heading before this text that simply says, “Six Woes.”  Luke records these as a conversation Jesus had with one of Israel’s religious leaders.  It is always easy for us to point the finger at the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and accuse them of hypocrisy and legalism.  But we need to examine ourselves from time to time to see if we have slipped silently into one of the religious habits that Jesus warned  about.

In the beginning of this section, Jesus is eating with a Pharisee who questions him because he did not go through the typical ritual hand washings of the Jews before eating.  Undoubtedly Jesus passed on the ritual because he knew it would be a conversation starter with his religious host.  Jesus began by speaking a hard truth to the man.  He told them that he and other Pharisees were very concerned about washing the outside of a dish while ignoring the inside which might be full of rotten food – greed and wickedness.  He then proceeds to express six “woes” toward the religious elite of Israel.  “Woe” is not so much a declaration of judgment in the original language as it is a statement of how deplorable and pitiful their condition is because they have missed the heart of God.

The first woe describes men who are meticulous at keeping religious ordinances while treating people poorly or while being indifferent to people who are struggling or hurting.  Often the Pharisees saw sinners. broken people, the poor, and those in bondage as being in that condition because of their sin.  They often  saw their condition as God’s judgment on sinful people.   He spoke of the Pharisees as men who were so careful to keep the law that they would even go into their herb gardens to count out a tenth of the produce to meet the demands of the law and to take to the temple while, at the same time, neglecting justice and their love for God. Before we raise our eyebrows at such “religious” behavior we might ask ourselves a few questions.

How many of us are faithful in giving, faithful in church attendance, faithful in our small group Bible studies and are the first to register for every church conference but rarely give series thought to the poor or the oppressed in the world or in our communities?  How many of us have actually taken action on behalf of the unborn that are being aborted by the millions or have stood up to slumlords on behalf of the poor?  How many of us have opened our homes or our pocket books to the homeless or foster children who have been removed from abusive parents?  How many of us have actually worked at soup kitchens or serve at homeless shelters on any consistent basis?

It’s easy to work for the poor or the homeless or for the unborn one day or one weekend a year so that we can “check the box” on caring for the poor.  Serving on a weekend is a good thing but do we actually have a heart for the poor, the oppressed, and the broken? Do we give thought to injustice, poverty, and oppression on all the other days?  I find myself being very willing to serve those I know and those I am confortable with but I also find myself shying away from the poor, the junkies, the prostitutes, and the homeless. And yet Jesus  steers us in that direction on multiple occasions. Remember the parable of the sheep and the goats that were divided on the basis of their caring for the poor and visiting the imprisoned?  Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.“ (Mt. 25:43-45).

This blog is dedicated to helping every believer find freedom and healing in the Lord and to help every believer move in the power of the Holy Spirit.  But to find freedom, healing, and power we must keep our hearts aligned  with the heart of the Father.  If he cares for the poor we must care for the poor.  If he cares for the weak, we must care for the weak.  If he cares for the oppressed, we must also.  As we grow in the gifts of the Spirit we cannot allow ourselves to become self-edification societies who simply sit around and prophesy over one another in our living rooms  or keep our healing gifts within the walls of the church.

As much as we talk about relationship versus ritual it is still easy to slide into religion where we are meticulous in keeping the rules of the church and staying in good standing with the brethren while the world around us is falling apart.  The gospel, the gifts, and the power of God have not been given to the church for safekeeping but have been given to the church to be taken into the world on behalf of the oppressed, the abused, those suffering injustice, and those in bondage.  If we were honest, we would have to say that many churches want to keep “those people” out instead of drawing them in.  That is the heart of the Pharisees and that is the heart Jesus warned us about.  He also said that while tithing meticulously, they also neglected their love for God.  According to Matthew 25, we love God when we love the poor, the down and out, and all the others beaten up and discarded by the world.  The church can have great preaching, great worship, great facilities, great youth programs, great marriage ministries and so forth but if we reserve them for the saved, the members in good standing, the affluent, or those like us rather than spending them on the lost and the broken then we are close to the first “woe” Jesus uttered toward those who claimed to know God best.  I know I am prone to insulate myself from the world but I must remember that Jesus died for those still outside the walls of the church.

God give me the heart to care about those used and abused by the world and give me the love and wisdom to do something about it so that your heart might be blessed, Jesus might be glorified, and your Spirit might move with power.  Amen

Tomorrow – the second “woe.”

I keep being reminded that our view of God and our view of how God views us (say that three times as fast as you can) is essential to moving in the power of God. To a great extent the power of God in our lives will be expressed through the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts, of course, are given rather than earned.  Many of us fail to receive the gifts we desire because we somehow believe that God does not esteem us enough to entrust those gifts to us.  Many of us still see God as an all-powerful, all-knowing deity who is first and foremost in the judgment business. We cast ourselves in the role of Belshazzar who was told by God that he had been “weighed in the balance and found lacking” (Dan.5:27).

However, judgment is not God’s primary business because judgment is not primary in God’s heart.  When God gave Moses instructions for building the tabernacle he was very specific and he told Moses to make everything exactly according to the plan or blueprint he would be given. Everything in the tabernacle was specifically ordained because the tabernacle was designed to reveal God’s nature to his people.  At the very core of the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies and in that room sat the Ark of the Covenant. Moses was given very specific instructions about the ark.

They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. “You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. …“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. “You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. “Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. “The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel. (Ex.25:17-22)

The ark was essentially a wooden box covered with gold in which the tablets of stone that had been given to Moses would be stored and carried as the Hebrews moved from place to place in the wilderness. The Holy Place (the room outside the Holy of Holies) and the Holy of Holies were to represent the throne room of God in heaven and the ark was to represent his throne. In Isaiah 6, we get a vision of God’s throne room in heaven and around the throne the Seraphim are crying “Holy. Holy. Holy.”  If you want an earthly analogy for the seraphim it would be the royal chorus who sing praises in the presence of the king.  Other angelic beings associated with the throne of God are the cherubim.  These angels might be compared to the palace guard.  In the first chapter of Ezekiel the prophet sees a terrible storm coming toward Israel and a vision of God coming in judgment upon the nation.  In chapters 9 and 10 he tells us that the creatures he saw in his vision were the cherubim who were carrying God on his throne, as if it were a war chariot, as he came in judgment in chapter one.  We first discover cherubim guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden with a flaming sword after Adam and Eve were forced to leave.  Their purpose was to let no sinful man enter the Garden or the presence of God. In the making of the ark, cherubim were to be cast in gold and placed on both ends of the cover of the ark in which the Law of Moses was placed. So far, the image seems ominous.  But between the cherubim, the guardians of God’s holiness, Moses was to construct a mercy seat that was to represent God’s throne.

It would have been easy to assume that God would instruct Moses to construct a judgment seat on top of the ark.  After all, the Law was deposited in the ark and that law would reveal our sinfulness. The cherubim surrounded the throne and they were the guardians of God’s holiness.  And yet, in the midst of that, God’s emphasis was mercy rather than judgment. We discover through those images that the purpose of God constructing the tabernacle was not to sit in judgment on his people but to dispense mercy.  God’s heart for us is always mercy and James, the brother of Jesus, tell us that mercy always triumphs over judgment (See James 2:13).

It’s not that God won’t judge sin or wickedness but it is always his last choice. Even Ezekiel’s vision of impending judgment was to bring a rebellious nation to repentance so that God would not have to judge. Many of us live and view God as if judgment and the rejection that goes with it are always God’s first choice.  The truth is that God is merciful first.  After David’s sin with Bathsheba, he wrote Psalm 51 and began his psalm of repentance by saying, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love.” David’s view of God was a God who would forgive even adultery and murder because he was first of all merciful and loving.

On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat.  They symbolism was that the blood covered the Law that was in the ark so that the cherubim guarding the throne could no longer see the Law. Without the law there is no sin and so because the blood of an innocent covered the law, we could enter into the presence of God. Under the Old Covenant only the high priest who represented the people could enter into God’s presence but at the death of Jesus, the veil that separated God from man was torn in two.  The mercy of God triumphed over judgment and we have been given free access to the Father through Jesus.

Such a God does not take account of every failing and measure his blessings out according to our performance. He gives willingly and freely to all who have been declared innocent of sin by the blood of Christ. He rejoices to give his children gifts and especially spiritual gifts for the work of the kingdom.

We are the ones hung up on ours sins – not God.  We are the ones who fail to ask because we keep declaring our unworthiness – not God. We are the ones who run first to judgment, especially to judge ourselves – not God.  God views us through the filter of grace, mercy, and the cleansing blood of his Son.  He gives blessing and gifts from the place of mercy rather than judgment. When we can finally understand in our hearts who our Father is, then we will rejoice to ask and have faith that we will receive. Then we will expect God to grant us gifts of healing, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, etc. and the church will begin to minister in power. We will expect God to give us those gifts because he rejoices in doing so – even to imperfect people like us.

Remember today that God’s first choice is always mercy.  His last choice is judgment. Expect very good things today from a very good Father and be blessed.