Learn to understand what comes from God and what comes from man

Beware of what you believe in. There is much talk by many theologians and preachers. Some of them are highly presumptuous of what God actually wants of a person. Therefore learn to understand what comes from God and what comes from man.

Let me make it real to you in the context of healing though there are other contexts like marriage, finances etc. I’ve been to many retreats, seminars and oratories wherein there was a ‘healing service’ in which the healing minister of God as I would call them, held the claim that he/she healed a lot of people through prayer. Though I didn’t have need of any healing I wanted to learn from them as to how they are used by God to heal.

I would be amazed to see so many people cured of various ills and diseases. I would go to such places often. Then for certain years I wasn’t able to be part of any such things. Years later I decide to go again to such healing ministers. Suddenly instead of the Welcome-everyone-attitude came the legalistic-attitude. Obviously I no longer go at their doors. They would say bold and harsh statements like:

1. “If you have AIDS or HIV its God’s Gift to you for sinning and God will NOT heal you”.
2. “It’s God’s WILL and DESIRE that you keep suffering from your sickness like Paul” and they quote 2 Corinthians 12: 7-9 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
3. “I sense God is healing some person of this and this disease but I say to this person, come up and testify on the stage right now or you will LOSE your healing”.

Mostly these were the same orators whom I heard earlier but then later their behavior changed. They started putting such conditions that even Jesus himself would not put. Now I’ll tackle all of the 3 statements. Here we go:

1. What if the person got AIDS or HIV due to blood transfusion? Would it be because of sin, no not at all. Even if a person got AIDS or HIV due to a sinful lifestyle but now is willing to follow Christ why should there be an obstacle in that persons restoration by the Lord Jesus. Sickness is NEVER the Lord God’s gift to any one. Last time I read the Bible and please note that I’ve read the whole Bible end to end, I never saw a verse about any one being “gifted” a sickness by God. Such lies are INVENTED in Hell and must rejected by every person who believes in Christ.
2. In all the Bible there is only one case in which a person was not getting cured/healed by God. Only 1. At the same time if you read the same verses above (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) the context is completely different as to why was the case. Also these verses are highly disputed by many theologians. The main point here is that Paul had to get a PERSONAL revelation and voice DIRECTLY from God that he wouldn’t be cured. What is strange is that such healing ministers say that is God’s Will that you suffer as such but ask them if they Lord had personally told them each and every detail of the sickness of your sickness which you didn’t tell them and now ask them to mention even that revelation in detail. They will begin giving you UNCLEAR and CONFUSING answers. Now you’ll realize man and not God is speaking.
3. Even when Jesus healed the woman who had the issue of blood (Read Mark 5:25-34 in your free time) he NEVER put a condition on her to Testify or she would lose healing. Not a single instance is ever recorded in the Bible both in the Old and New Testament of any healing minister of God back there saying ‘come and testify right now or you will LOSE your healing’. Scripture tells us to imitiate Christ (Ephesians 5:1 and 1 Corinthians 11:1) and obviously putting such limits on a person is not at all Christ-like.

Going to the context of vocations; Never take up any vocation just based on a person’s opinion that it comes from God. Check this out with God himself in prayer and reading of the scriptures. There are truly blessed men (and women) of God who told me a lot of things on vocation and gave some types of prophecies but I didn’t jump the gun but instead just noted their words in a book and went on with my life. Then I kept checking with God as to which of these came from HIM and how to go to the next step.

Some decisions like the vow-of-celibacy (not getting married) or doing full time ministry (both lay and religious) for the sake of the Gospel are “life changing decisions” and should not be based on the words of man but only if God is willing for it. And for this you need to discern.

So to summarize: Learn to understand what comes from God and what comes from man. Do this by praying to God and diligent reading of the Bible (Its a great help in this regard to take help of the Holy Spirit on this).

Related articles

• Fight for Your Health (jesushealsthesick.wordpress.com)
• God doesn’t cause illness (andrewejenkins.wordpress.com)
• This Is a Good Fight, Take It! (shadeakinbiyi.wordpress.com)
• Who Are We? (zimirioffering.wordpress.com)
• Attributes of the Holy Spirit – Part 1 (thevinevigil.wordpress.com)
• Overcoming the Spirit of Infirmity (jesushealsthesick.wordpress.com)

Don’t be selfish after getting your blessings

Recently I happened to meet a preacher who went a long rant about people who came to his church, got their miracles and then stopped coming to his preaching services. Here’s one such real life example he keeps facing; people who are unemployed came to him for prayers. Then those people get jobs by getting trough the job interviews. These people didn’t earlier get jobs for months. They then come to testify in church, in front of the entire congregation as to how after being prayed over by the preacher, they received their blessings from God and have so got a great paying job. Fast forward this to like three months later and the preacher then observed that many of these who received their jobs miraculously are nowhere to be seen at the church services. In fact now the very jobs they got blessed with are cited as reasons for not attending church, pathetic! This preacher was visibly upset for a moment when he mentioned this challenge he faced but yet after that kept praying for others who are in need of jobs etc.

Then there’s a thing that I too faced. I’d pray for people and they’d get married and but then reduce their church attendance, while there are many other couples who do attend church even after marriage. They then will avoid any religious seminars and guess what; being married is cited as the reason for that. Then few years later when the child is born and is sick, they are in ‘need’ of me for prayers. Only out of concern for the child do I pray for his or her well-being and they recover. After that if I try to contact the parents, they again go non responsive. Utterly ungrateful and opportunistic people!

Due to this, I later on modified my strategy towards such people. Basically, first identify such people and pray for discernment. Then don’t help unless explicitly asked for in a non ambiguous manner. And only then help as usual but expect them to not be grateful later on. So don’t invest too much into them. Instead go on to help the next person God sends in your life.

So what’s my point?

My point is don’t be selfish after getting your blessings. Firstly, honour the Lord God and don’t miss out on praying to him and loving him. Secondly, have regard towards those who prayed for you in your suffering. Thirdly, remember that miracles are not for your selfish agendas but for the glory of God. Finally, don’t make your blessings as an excuse to neglect coming to church nor an as excuse to reduce praying and avoid reading the Bible.

Now to people who still think all they need is a blessing and then disappear from doing their responsibility towards God, well I have bad news for you. You can try to give all the reasons you want but the Lord God knows the deceitful and the good right from the heart. The maker of all hearts knows really well how to judge them and obviously there is a Final judgement that will soon happen.  And just to let you know, not every preacher will allow you to take them for granted. Even myself made a strategy as mentioned above. But let share just one strategy which another set of preachers use; don’t grant the miracle unless the person shows interest in continuing in the Word God. Rude as this strategy sounds to the selfish of heart, the good of heart don’t mind this at all.

Let me make it real to you. At a preaching convention, there was a woman in need of a miracle for her baby. Now this preaching was residential over a span of five days. This woman was desperate and was only looking for the preacher to lay hands on the baby so that her child recovers and then she’d immediately leave the convention half way. Signs were already showing up. She was skipping prayers and mentioning the baby as the reason. Arriving late in the preaching hall and citing the baby as the reason. Keeping on saying that she has things at home to attend to and what not. At the time of healing prayers the preacher felt the power of God at work. He prayed and a lot of people received their healing. Now that woman came to him for praying for her baby. But he realized in his mind that if he grants her the healing she will immediately leave the place. So he told her to wait till the final day of the convention. She was reluctant but had no choice.

Before any of you think what that preacher did wrong, please continue to observe what happened next.  The preacher kept preaching the Word of God in its fullness and emphasized on believing in the Gospel, repentance from sins, faith for life etc. These are very vital topics in the life of a believer in Christ. Now on the fifth day the woman went back to the preacher and asked him to pray over her baby and this time he asked the Lord God to heal the baby of so and so disease. The moment the woman realized her child is healed she immediately made an excuse in the name of the baby and left the convention. The preacher was smart enough to call her only at the last minutes of the convention. He said he didn’t lack mercy towards the baby but knew in advance that the woman was more interested in the miracle than hearing the Word of God if the baby was healed first. Because he prayed that the baby’s health won’t worsen in those five days but only that the healing would occur last day.

Now, I myself don’t use his method about praying for people but I do get his point loud and clear; some people once they receive their miracle may make excuses to avoid hearing the Gospel, so do whatever you can to stop that.

My advice to those preaching and healing others in the name of Jesus Christ, would be that don’t let people treat you like an MVM. Some people incorrectly feel that they are entitled to all the time and efforts of those who pray for others and they don’t feel grateful towards them. Don’t be an MVM but a true minister of the Word of God. Be a pleaser of God instead of the people.

 

 

You might ask what is a “MVM”. It’s called as a Miracle Vending Machine. So again for those preaching healing in Jesus’ name, please remember that miracles are secondary and the glory to God comes first. Ensure that you explain the love and mercy of God as mentioned in Gospel and then pray for healing and miracles for those who come to you. And tell those people who might think the job they will get is due to their own ability then why are they asking you to pray for them? You can also tell them if they want a good spouse in marriage then why are they expecting you to fast for them but themselves don’t want to fast? Obviously, you don’t need to blunt too much but at the same time don’t be anyone’s door mat either especially when you know the gift of healing and miracles are not yours to claim fame for but are of God’s alone who is working through you.

Christ be with you!

 

Photos of preaching in Pakistan

Here are few photos a few preachers based off in South Africa who were preaching in Pakistan. South Africa now preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ to various nations. The photo’s were taken in September 15-28th 2015, around the city of Lahore, Pakistan.

But first let’s know our man on the ground. Pastor Saleem Saddique (Graduate, Rhema Bible College, SA) from Tell The Nations Church, Pakistan. Here’s a photo of him in South Africa.

Pastor Saleem Saddique preaching in Pakistan

Here come my brothers in Christ, Martin Lloyd and in the next image Chris Chitts. Both are from South Africa. Pastor Saleem doubled up as their translator apart from being their host.

The preaching was spread over a couple of days. So expect them wearing up different clothes each day.

A baptism in Pakistan

Praying for a Pakistani man.

More preaching – Now in a ghetto.

Many people including those who were sick arrived for the preaching in the ghetto for their healing. The reviews were amazing!

Ministering to the people. Couldn’t get the name of the preacher in the checked shirt but I do wish him well.

Praying over a child.

Pastor André Smith doing the preaching as well as praying over others.

 

 

A little camaraderie after preaching.

A mission trip review.

Courtesy of the photos : harvest-timenews.com

Participating ministries were : Spirit Formed Ministries, South Africa  and Harvest Time Ministries, Praetoria, South Africa.

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

 

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:46-52)

Among the various good things Jesus is known as, he is also the Son of David. In the case of the Lord Jesus who was about to leave Jericho there was a blind beggar who needed the healing touch of the Lord. Would the Saviour of the world pass him by? Not at all, because Jesus heard his cry. If Bartimaeus would have chosen to fear the crowd he wouldn’t have called Jesus as the Son of David. Despite pressure from the crowd who tried to force him to stop crying out to the Lord, this man called for mercy from Jesus. Finally, Jesus said, “Call him” and the crowd now encouraged the blind man to come closer to Christ. Then the Lord asked him what does he want to be done for him. The blind man knew what is the most important thing for him which is nothing less than the recovery of his sight. And that is what he asked for.

Jesus then told him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And indeed the blind man was able to see. Praise be to God!

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. (Psalm 146:8)

Bartimaeus had no option. He knew it’s going to be Son of David that day who could heal him or nobody else. When he referred to Jesus as the Son of David it was a great thing to say in those times. Because the Romans hated any competitor to the throne of Israel. Also for the Pharisees it would mean someone they must not refuse to give heed to in matters of the Law of Moses. While for the general Jews it would mean he was not just their King but also their Messiah. So calling Jesus rightfully as the Son of David had serious implications and yet Bartimaeus choose faith and not fear. He kept crying out to Jesus and was not ashamed of the Lord.

I pray that more people who are in need of healing, stop getting bothered by the naysayers, and reach out to Christ in prayer. I pray those who desire healing, become even bolder that Bartimaeus. Let them be bold against their past and simply believe in the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Verses for reflection:

• Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:17)
• You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons. “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.” (Isaiah 42:7-9)
• And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.
   (Isaiah 42:16)
• “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4:18)

 

Related articles:

• A prayer for healing of body, mind and spirit
• Bible verses for those who need healing (Audio)

Bible Verses For Those Who Need Healing (Audio)

Note: Credit for the YouTube video goes to Rest Easy Ministries

Effects and dangers of preaching an incomplete Gospel

Any person who preaches the Gospel  whether in church, home or elsewhere must take a serious note that they are to preach the complete Gospel.  One must never get bullied or pressured to only speak the points of the Gospel that the congregation likes to hear such as healing and salvation but avoid topics like martyrdom and sanctification. You are not here to impress the people, you are in fact here to preach the Gospel. And this means that you are not to compromise with the preaching of the Gospel at any given point of time and place.

Sometimes the preaching of an incomplete Gospel might have the actual words of the Bible and even sound impressive but that still leaves a lot of gray areas in the spirit. For instance, saying that Jesus picked up his cross for you but skipping up the part of the Gospel where Jesus wants us to carry our cross and deny oneself, leaves a person to have a lot of guess work as to whether to indulge in worldly luxuries or spend time helping the poor and needy.

Speaking about the Gospel where you focus a lot on love but miss out on mentioning that Jesus actually rose from the dead, is basically an incomplete Gospel.  As a result the person hearing such a Gospel will be surprised when someone actually mentions that Jesus had to die for us and then rose from the grave.

I had encountered one such person from another religion who claimed to know everything  about Christianity as he attended a lot of Christian worship services at a particular place. I felt that he was boasting too much, as a person who hears the complete Gospel won’t brag about his knowledge as the Gospel clearly speaks about being humble.  So I asked him, “I hope you know that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead on the third day, do you?” And to this he replied that he doesn’t believe in the resurrection at all because this was something he heard from me for the first time and never heard it in the church he attended.  I told him to read the Bible and see what the Gospel actually says about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and he was still in shock. In hind sight, this incident made me realize that certain preachers are consistently NOT preaching the complete Gospel.

Now the following seven points are just a few of the effects and dangers of preaching an incomplete Gospel to the people:

1. People are not clear about who Jesus is

2. People are not sure if they are to leave their sins

3. People are not sure if they should pray for healings and miracles

4. People are not warned of persecutions and rejection they might encounter

5. People are not on guard against false prophets and false gospels

6. People are not encouraged to do good works

7. People are not sure of their salvation

A detailed explanation is given below for each of the above points so that you understand them better.

1) People are not clear about who Jesus is

It’s completely vain to preach a Gospel which doesn’t clearly identify Jesus as the Lord and as the Son of God. I wonder how do people even tolerate a preacher who doesn’t want to mention Jesus, not even one bit in church. If you don’t mention that Jesus is the Lamb of God how are they to understand his sacrificial death on the cross on our behalf?

Here are a few verses to consider:

• The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)
• The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)
• Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”  Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:26-28)

2) People are not sure if they are to leave their sins

I notice that certain preachers avoid any mention of repentance. They will say stuff like ‘You don’t need religion. You only need Jesus’ as if they really know what they are saying.  (On a side note, if you not sure whether if Christianity a religion or relation, then I’d say it’s both. To know about why I said that please refer to my earlier post Is Christianity a religion or relation?). The fact is that people have to both accept Jesus as their Savior and also repent of their sins.

Anyone who says that once you repent, each and every of your future sins are automatically forgiven can read my earlier post titled : ‘The heresy of pre-forgiven sin‘ which shows you must repent every time you sin.

Here are a few verses to reflect upon:

• No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3)
• Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:7)
• “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:2)

3) People are not sure if they should pray for healings and miracles

Some preachers try to focus a lot on good conduct but leave out the fact that miracles in the name of Jesus did happen in the Gospel and can still happen today. Miracles and healings are for today and have not gone by with the Apostles. They are still available for the glory of God. It’s vain to talk about miracles and healings as something that were only available at the time of Jesus but now it’s gone. (You can refer to my post titled Signs, wonders, miracles, deliverance and healing are for today, which explains it up).

Here are a few verses to ponder upon:

• “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14)
• As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.  And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”  And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Matthew 11:20-24)

4) People are not warned of persecutions and rejection they might encounter

If all one is preaching is about the comforts of heaven and the joy of salvation but not warning the people about the persecutions and rejection they might encounter on account of believing in Jesus Christ, then they won’t be ready for it if it were to happen to them by any degree. This is not about scaring them but helping them be prepared to hold on to their hope in Christ even in the face of danger to life or ridicule by others. If Jesus could speak about that, why are you fearing to talk about the same thing?

Here are a few verses to think about:

• and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.  “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household. (Matthew 10:22-25)
• “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12)

5) People are not on guard against false prophets and false gospels

If Gospel that is preached doesn’t warn against false prophets and the false gospels which emerge from these deceivers, then even though that Gospel is very clear on repentance it is still needs a lot of catching up to do. Because the people won’t have a clue and so be off their guard when false gospels, false prophets and even false Christ’s come to them and as a result believe in lies which can be damnable heresies.

Here are few verses to take heed of:

• And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. For false christ’s and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. (Mark 13:21-23)
• Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15)
• As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”  And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.…. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.  (Matthew 24: 3-5, 11)

6) People are not encouraged to do good works

Any preaching of Gospel that relies solely on mental assertions but doesn’t encourage to do good works is lacking the depth of love in action. Your good works are meant so that you glorify the Lord God. We are called to be both hearers and  doers of the Word of God.

Here are a few verses to put into action:

• In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
• Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. (Matthew 6:1, NLT)
• Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)

7) People are not sure of their salvation

Preaching the Gospel in such a way that it overemphasizes on doing good works but does not speak in clear terms about salvation can end up confusing people. There might be a danger that people will incorrectly presume to their own hurt that their goods works will grant them salvation. So it’s important that the salvation is preached to them as per the Gospel instead of any man made doctrine.

Here are a few verses to believe in:

• When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:25-26)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18)
• The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:35-36)
• Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)

A suggested prayer:

Dear Lord God, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ your Son. Please forgive me if at any point of time in my life whether knowingly or unknowingly I did not preach the Gospel in all its fullness. Give me the courage and hope to preach the Gospel for your glory and without any fear. Bless my will power and memory so that I recall your greatness, mercy and victory in the Gospel and exhort those who hear it to believe in Jesus Christ. Be with me Holy Spirit that those who hear the Gospel from me and are in sin turn back to their One True Shepherd so that they love and serve him all the days of their life. Amen and amen.

Signs, wonders, miracles, deliverance and healing are for today

Signs, wonders, miracles, deliverance and healing are for today, they have not disappeared, nor have the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

There’s a wrong notion being sent across various Christian circles that signs, wonders, miracles, deliverance and healing were only for the times of the Apostles and the time when Jesus was on earth. They also say that God no longer speaks to people, so they effectively label all visions and prophesy nowadays as falsehood. This is also called as “Cessationism”. Well this thing called Cessationism is not Biblical at all.

One such Cessationist says ‘”there are no New Testament instructions about appointing apostles, prophets, healers, or anything of the kind”. I wish that they had actually read the New Testament completely in the first place before making such an outlandish statement.

Let’s read 1 Corinthians 12:1-10 which shows who is one who gives the ministries of signs, wonders, miracles, deliverance and healing and you’ll realize that he’s none other than the Holy Spirit:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. ³ Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ⁷ To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

To be a Cessationist is to be in danger of offending or at some point even blaspheming the Holy Spirit. And remember the following Bible verse:

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)

Going by the logic of the Cessationist’s miracles do not happen anymore. Somehow, they have not noticed or rather refuse to acknowledge any signs, wonders, miracles, deliverance and healing which happen in the name of Jesus all across the world even TODAY. Why don’t they directly go one on one with preachers who preach deliverance and healing which comes from the Gospel? Why don’t they try to speak to people who were terminally ill and got healed because someone prayed for them in the name of Jesus? The odd answer they will give is that they believe in Cessationism because their religious teachers taught them so and because of this, it must be true. This is not discernment at all.

Now for these people, if a miracle were to happen nowadays in name of Jesus Christ then what would be their reaction? Most probably they will still try to push their man made ‘doctrine’ instead of investigating if that miracle were true.

Why is it that they don’t want people to get healed in the name God? What makes them so adamant against deliverance which includes casting out evil spirits out of suffering people? Why is it that they don’t want to talk about miracles that still happen today at church as valid and true? One reason could be that signs, wonders, miracles, deliverance and healing which happen in the name of Jesus require faith but they prefer to exercise ‘doctrine’ instead of living by faith.

And Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. ¹⁶ Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)

Signs and wonders have been included the Great commission as mentioned above by Jesus. And this was NOT limited to the Apostles. It’s very clear “And these signs will accompany those who believe” and by this it means this was not limited to the Apostles alone.

Now Cessationist‘s misinterpret the following Bible verses and use them to blindly label other Christians as heretics and imposters:

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

They fail to see that in the verses prior that Jesus warned about false prophets telling to us to recognize them by their fruits. But Cessationist‘s have made up their mind to ignore the words of Jesus and forgo any sort of discerning but  simply label all those who prophesy and cast out demons in the name of Jesus as workers of lawlessness. Somehow they don’t have the time to verify if someone truly works for the Lord or not. They are completely obsessed with tackling teachers of evil that they forget the basic differences between the good and the evil one’s.

I would ask such people who indulge in Cessationism to might as well read the following words by Jesus:

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Cessationism decides to cherry pick on the Bible. Whatever verses they want to use to either justify their doctrine is most welcome. The same applies for using Bible verses for falsely accusing other Christians. However, they choose to ignore and even challenge Bible verses such as Mark 16:15-18, 1 Corinthians 12:1-10 etc so that people avoid doing wonders in the name of Jesus.

If you have been taught Cessationism, I would say that read the Bible for yourself plain and simple to understand the facts. But if you still persist on holding on to Cessationism, then why do you pray to God for discernment and safety and still expect God to reply to your problems with favor? Well, for myself I do not believe in Cessationism but believe in Christ the Son of God who still replies to prayers with blessings, healing and power.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people (1 Timothy 2:1)

 

¹² “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14)

The above words were spoken by Jesus about those who believe (not just the Apostles), that they would do the works (of healing, deliverance etc) like him and would do even more greater that him. This is not about personal exaltation but about glorifying the Lord God in his Son Jesus. Read it again if you must but still there no mention about such things ceasing after the time of the Apostles.

Christ be with you!

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Related articles

• Why is God so different in the Old Testament than He is in the New Testament? (altruistico.wordpress.com)
• The Holy Spirit: Deconstructing Cessationism (revolfaith.com)
• Deconstructing Cessationism: Part 2 (revolfaith.com)

Never pay for your miracles as Jesus has already paid it all

Anyone who believes in Christ ought to be careful against those who put a price on miracles of healing and restoration. There are wrong concepts being passed around that you must pay for your miracle. Basically, someone will say that pay up a certain amount of ‘love offering’ or ‘tithe’ over to their ‘ministry’ to get restored physically for financial, emotional or physical restoration. Nothing could be more far from the truth of the Gospel.

Jesus didn’t ask for anyone to charge others for miracles. In fact he said to his Apostles, “And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8 KJV)

Before I can elaborate on this, let me make something very clear, lest you miss the point. There is nothing wrong in donating to the cause of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s good to give to ministries that work to bring relief to the poor and afflicted. Now it’s true that certain preachers actually need money to cover the cost of running their ministries. They are genuinely into preaching the word and there are valid expenses in terms of travel and equipment costs, building maintenance costs etc. Never shy away from helping such ministers in whatever little way you can. For instance you can donate money or give them your extra Bibles or clothes that you don’t use which they can give to those who might need them.

Now coming back to the topic of not paying for miracles remember that Jesus himself never charged anyone to grant them their healing or deliverance. We are called to imitate Christ (read 1 John 2:6, 1 Corinthians 11:1 and 1 Thessalonians 1:6) and as we imitate him we are do so without being legalistic. As Jesus walked in wisdom so must we.

Jesus blesses us without charging us, all we need to do is believe in him. He has paid the price for your salvation and healing. Scripture says; But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5). This is again in the Scripture where it says; He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Such a simple truth yet this is difficult to grasp for a world that is brought up on ‘earning your worth’. Here is our Lord Jesus who is giving you things you couldn’t even buy if you worked all your life for it. Now, lets read and reflect on the following verses:

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (Isaiah 55:1)

I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Revelation 22:16-17)

By these verses it becomes very clear that these blessings of God do NOT come with a price tag. What is most important is that you come to the Lord because he himself wills that you come.

Now I am aware of what the ‘pay for your miracle’ bandwagon say to justify their deeds as good. They usually quote; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38). And also they will quote “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that [there shall] not [be room] enough [to receive it]. (Malachi 3:10 KJV)

I wish they could preach these verses but in the right context. The context of these verses is never about paying for your miracle but rather its about being generous towards God and partnering with him for his work on earth. The emphasis is on giving rather that receiving. And putting this in conjunction with Matthew 10:7-8 we can confirm that it’s not about buying up your miracle nor trying to sell one.

Even back in the Old Testament we have the instance of Elisha the prophet of God who refused any compensation from Naaman the Syrian whom he cured of leprosy (all this is mentioned in 2 Kings 5). The following verses stand witness to this:

Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. (2 Kings 5:15-16)

Moving forward to the New Testament we have the instance where the Apostles Peter and John encountered a lame beggar on their way into the temple. They didn’t ask him for money. How could they even ask anything from a beggar? But instead Peter healed the lame man in the following manner as mentioned in the Bible:

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. (Acts 3:3-8)

With both the Old and New Testaments showing that those who did miracles by God didn’t need a payment for that we can understand one thing very clearly. That those who are demanding money in exchange for miracles are neither following the Old nor the New Testaments.

To this effect let us remember that when a certain Simon who previously practiced magic tried to bribe Peter to receive power, he got rebuked for it. Not just any power but that by which he could put his hands on anyone so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. Simon was duly rebuked by Peter for his sin of trying to get the free gift of God with money and then Simon did repent.

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John,  who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”  And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” (Acts 8: 14-24)

So to conclude, never pay for your miracles as Jesus has already paid it all. He is all good and loving towards those who believe in him. We are to walk in light of the Holy Scriptures which not just tell us to be generous towards God but also to walk in wisdom. Never pay for your miracle ever again!

Related articles

• Identifying a false prophet
• Why the Televangelist is NOT Wrong in Asking for Money
• Bring in the full tithe
• Black Christians and the Myth of Prosperity Preaching

Training oneself

“Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:8

Training oneself physically helps you stay fit and agile. Regular exercise prevent excess weight gain. To climb mountains, a person undergoes a lot of conditioning both physically and mentally. This helps one climb up and down the mountain safely and effectively.

Athletes and soldiers exercise almost everyday, so that they can be in prime fitness whenever needed. Even animals such as dogs and monkey do some form of excercise, which looks very amusing to me. Astronauts in space are needed to excercise to maintain optimum muscle function.

So I surely can say that physical training is good for you. What physical training you need to follow is up to you. You would need to a bit of personal research, though speaking to a professional can help too. If you are on medication take your doctor into confidence about what training program you intend to do.

Now, 1 Timothy 4:8 doesn’t say not to excercise physically. It rather shows that spiritual training or training for godliness is much more beneficial than physical training. Physical training helps us in this life. Spiritual training helps us in this life and the after life as well.

Now what does training for godliness include. It includes reminding yourself of your new nature in Christ. It includes honoring the sacrifice of Jesus in partaking of the Lord’s Supper. It includes reading the Bible with the intent to grow. It includes hearing the Gospel regularly. It includes
remembering the prophecies in the Bible. It includes using the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It includes avoiding being a ‘solo’ player in Church but instead helping others in it. It includes training yourself to pray in all forms, such a silent and vocal prayer, praying in tongues etc. It includes training yourself to worship Jesus with all your mind and strength.

So by now you may notice that spiritual training includes a lot of things. You need to train yourself against all attacks of the devil to steal your faith. You need to carry your cross daily. With mass media you can also read or hear and watch a lot of sermons on various spiritual topics.

I used to train myself a lot in casting out evil spirits. I didn’t bother to listen to any critic but decided to only use a bibical approach and avoid any foolish mystical stuff. This benefited me. On a few occasions that came up suddenly I found myself casting out demons though I was not an excorcist. This gave me a chance to preach the gospel even more to the affilicted person.

A point in spiritual training is that you must never overdo stuff and instead be balanced. I mean it’s really extreme to read books only on healing others most of the time but neglecting the overall training in godliness. With all due respect, you might become a good healer from God but you could miss on fellowship with other church members due to being constantly busy.

Too much emphasis on excorcism will make you concentrate on trying to detect spirits even in normal people. It can really annoy people in the business world if you are constantly talking about demons instead of work. You need to therefore take all spiritual training which will also teaches when and how to behave in a particular social setting.

With that said you must train for godliness in all areas adequately. If you are weak in a particular area like counselling a terminally ill person then do take help from people who are known to be proficient in that area. You can even ask the Lord to give you wisdom in that area and he will give it to you abundantly and without adding reproaches.

Take up training for godliness not in fear but with a desire to glorify God. Happy training!