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| Belief's Opposing Force - Part 2 |
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Belief's Opposing Force - Part 2
In Part 1of this series I was talking about how, contrary to popular theology, it is quite possible for us to have belief and unbelief operating simultaneously. In other words, the presence of faith does not automatically negate unbelief.
I also stated in the first blog that we are often the ones that hinder the blessings of God from coming to pass here in this present world. I don't mean to imply that there is no grace involved whatsoever. God is a graceful God. But grace works through faith. There are actually laws of faith. Not laws as in certain regiments or religious duties, but faith works according to law, as does the law of gravity or the law of aerodynamics.
There are many hindrances to us receiving from God. And a lack of faith can certainly be one of those. Or, better stated, a lack of the recognition that God has given us "the" level of faith can be one of those. It is true that some people do lack and suffer not because of a lack of faith alone, yet the faith that they have is mixed with unbelief. There are indeed other hindrances including the fact that we have an enemy that wants to steal, kill, and destroy. But we have also been given authority over the devil and commanded to resist him. God is not going to resist the devil for us. We are to exercise our authority over him, after submitting to God, and he will flee. That's a promise.
Countering unbelief is the topic of this blog but I suppose in order for any of this to yield the desired effect, we have to first believe that it is God's desire for us to be well and that He has already commanded blessings upon our lives. Without that understanding then I am most certain that everything I am presenting here today is going to fly right over your head. God is a good God and all good things come from Him. Now please don't misunderstand me. I am not preaching prosperity here, at least not the type of prosperity that some of the blab-it-grab-it crowd teach. But I am preaching this:
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
It is God's will for you to walk in health, and it is God will for you to be victorious, in this life. There are a plethora of scriptures to back up this truth and the Spirit himself bears witness. God loves you immensely and He is your ever present help in time of need.
For example, there are at least 17 individual instant physical healings recorded in the New Testament. Now some of these are in fact the same healings yet recorded by a different Gospel writer. But the point is that there is not one single example in scripture of someone coming to Jesus and not being healed, In addition to those single occurrences, on several occasions it is recorded that sick people came to Jesus in multitudes and he healed them all. Every single one, every single time. And those are just the instances that were recorded. We really have no idea as to how many times Jesus administered healing.
The Words says:
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
Jesus also said this:
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
If Jesus could only do that which he sees the Father do, and, in each and every case of someone being sick, Jesus healed them, then it is only logical to conclude that it is always God's will to heal. Not only is it His will, but the reality is that, you are already healed. Your healing exists in the spirit realm but it most definitely exists. That's another teaching. I touched on this briefly in Spirit, Soul, and Body as well as a few other blogs.
Not only is God willing to heal, but he has commanded the believers to heal the sick, not pray for the sick. If I am not mistaken, there only two times in the New Testament where praying for the sick is mentioned, Once in Acts 28:8, and in James 5:14&15. Yet we are commanded several times to lay hands on the sick, and we are promised, they shall recover. It would be unjust for God to give us a command that was not in line with His will. God is a just God!
So we have the faith of Christ dwelling in us, and we have been joined to His Spirit, then what in the world is hindering us from seeing more manifestations come to pass? Unbelief.
I am going to end Part 2 of this series right here because of it's length and the fact that I have a guest arriving. But please know that this blog is an attempt to help those that will hear that you have the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead living on the inside of you. But the only way, that you, or I, or anyone else for that matter is going to be able to properly exercise that power is not by growing our faith, or believing more, yet the answer lies in removing, or at least reducing, our level of unbelief.
Before I go let me leave you with the following verse for your consideration:
But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
Believe only? As in keep the belief but cast out the unbelief? Have faith yet doubt not in your heart? Why would He tell us to believe only unless it were possible for us to disbelieve and believe at the same time?
In love,
Michael
See Part 3
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| To add a comment to "Belief's Opposing Force - Part 2" |
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| November 28, 2008 |
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Michael,
People do not understand that sickness and disease are bondage of the devil. Once that point is made (in addition to the point that you made that God wants us to be in good health and to prosper) then, I think it's easier to see what's supposed to be going on here. 13:11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up [herself]. 13:12 And when Jesus saw her, he called [her to him], and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
The infirmity that had this woman bowed over, Luke says, is a spirit. Infirmity, therefore is a binding spirit and Jesus is able to, with the word of His power, break those bonds. Of course, healing folks doesn't score you any points with religious people. 13:14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. Divine healing is not good news to the most religious among us. But Jesus is awesome! Look at how He handled this situation: 13:15 The Lord then answered him, and said, [Thou] hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or [his] ass from the stall, and lead [him] away to watering? 13:16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? Satan is the author of infirmity (i.e. sickness and disease) not God. Religious people don't see it that way, however. The religious establishment wants people to believe that God is sometimes "Yes" and sometimes "No". Religious people have created God in their own corrupt image. Religious people who, with persuasive words and honey dripping from their lips, seduce people into believing that it is actually humble to contradict God. They teach that it is arrogant to expect God to be true to His word. Religious people call good evil and evil good.
The other argument people like to use against the prosperity gospel is this: "You gotta die of something."
Who says? It is the corrupt medical religion of the United States of America that teaches that you have to die of something. They cannot leave the "Cause of death" line blank on their religious paperwork. I'm convinced that when I die, my heart will stop beating. They will probably write "Cardiac Arrest" on the Cause of Death line. Cardiac arrest implies heart disease but only if you've been suckered by the medical establishment. Be that as it may, I'm not responsible for what the heathen write on my death certificate. I'm responsible for believing the word of God.
The point is that Western Religion (i.e. the medical establishment) has dictated how the unregenerate read the scriptures. They have replaced the word of God with their own false religion.
Michael, your teaching on this topic is good to great. I know where you get this from - Andrew Wommack - but Kenneth Hagin, and others have taught it too. This is a complete and compelling theology that must be taken into consideration by any serious bible student.
Let's address a couple more objections then I'll quit. 4:20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick. If Trophimus remained sick, it was Trophimus' fault.
Michael, I had hemorrhoids until I was able to walk in healing. Now I'm free. It doesn't mean they might not come back but I know how to overcome. My lower back pain is completely gone but if it came back, I would know how to overcome it. Now let's talk about my acid reflux.
I can overcome hemorrhoids, sin, and lower back pain, but acid reflux keeps coming back. Does that mean I don't have enough faith? Not at all. I obviously have enough faith as witnessed by the other areas of victory but why do I still have acid reflux? Answer: Unbelief.
Michael, you hit the nail on the head. When I look at that big old greasy hamburger, I start to feel the pain of acid reflux because on some level, I judge that I should have indigestion. I don't know which level but obviously it's some level, otherwise, I'd have victory in that area too. I'm sick and it's my own fault. What's so hard about admitting that? The truth is, we'd rather destroy our confidence in God than admit there is something wrong with how we're looking at this thing.
Objection: Paul's Thorn in the Flesh
I LOVE this objection to the prosperity gospel. It's classic "grasping at straws". Paul writes about a "thorn in the flesh" but doesn't specify what it is. So obviously, it must be a disease or infirmity of some kind. Only religious people could get away with such faulty logic.
Paul said that his "thorn in the flesh" was a messenger. We know that Paul was dogged by the Judaizers who wanted to take people out of the Spirit and put them back into the flesh (see Galatians - the whole book). We know that these messengers of Satan were headed up by the bishop of Jerusalem (see Galatians 2). Paul's thorn in the flesh was The messenger (singular) of Satan that was dedicated to undoing everything Paul was doing.
This messenger was Paul's thorn in the flesh to keep him humble. Persecution from the religious establishment is God's discipline designed to keep us humble. For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth - just like He chastened Jesus with the Pharisees and scribes. God uses Ishmael, Esau, and James the Just to keep us from gettin' the big head. After all, when you finally connect with your authority in Christ and all the blessings that God has already supplied, it's enough to turn a girl's head. I sometimes have difficulty not raining fire down on all those who oppose me. How 'bout you?
Rob |
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| November 28, 2008 |
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One other thing: I still wear glasses too. Does that mean that Jesus didn't heal my vision? Heck no! By His stripes we are all healed. But this is the kingdom of heaven, here, not the physical realm. In the physical realm stuff works automatically. Not so in the kingdom. Without faith, it is impossible to access the blessings of the kingdom of God. As a result, it would appear that without faith it is impossible to please Him.
It has please Him to activate each blessing by faith. And, as I can attest, faith for healing back pain is not the same as faith for healing vision, acid reflux, or just plane old ugly! Nothing's automatic in the kingdom of God.
Can one be healed of ugly? Give me book, chapter, and verse for that one, 'cause I'm ready to believe God for it! I can hear it now. I'll get up in church and proudly proclaim, "God healed me of ugly!"
"Ya wanna bet?", they'll reply. - But I digress...
Financial prosperity is also accessed by faith. We all know of people who are more prosperous than others - the poor you will have with you always. Why are some more prosperous than others? Faith. We all recognize this in the natural but when it comes to spiritual matters, we're taught that faith has nothing to do with it. It's bizarre.
Rob |
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| November 28, 2008 |
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Wow Rob that was an awesome comment...What you said! Man, who can top most of that...
I have to talk about Beliefs opposing force here a moment...You know what when it came to my healing I had total faith God could do it...and that He was willing...those things have been settled for me long ago...I had experienced miraculous healing before with my Daddy's prayers...I knew that routine...I was already no stranger to it...
But for me what did I NOT believe in....what was the block to my healing...now that was what I found to be so key...BUT you have to get to the point first of understanding that if your not healed the issue is NOT with God but with you...whether your name is Tropheus or Lori or Rob if you don't figure out the missing key for you, your going to go ahead and stay in that sickness...
I've heard others on here say for example no one wants to be sick but that is simply not true....I work in the health profession and I know people who wear their sickness like a badge. They realize it seems to entitle them to attention, many times free medical care in the US, early retirement, and a plethora of benefits seem to be available to those "sick", to me it is no different than welfare...there are those of us who in no way shape or form would ever seek those benefits but there are others who have lived off of it for generations...sickness can be the same way...it does have its benefits in the society of the United States of America...it also has its benefits in the church and that is just the truth...This is one example of a common attitude that I belief blocks a miraculous healing. It seems taboo to say in Christian circles but lets get real here so people can find Gods best for them...lets call the truth the truth no matter how much it hurts...
I believe this...God wants his people well, He would not send us sickness to teach us or a child something...that is NEVER Gods heart towards his children...if your sick you have the ability available to you to find healing....I encourage everyone to do that but it is a personal journey....It often times is not about just one thing but many factors....we can't wrap sickness or a lack of healing up with one word, like faith or even unbelief, that Word can be sin, curses, demonic activity...If you look at what Christ did when he touched people and healed them he addressed each one of those persons issues before they found healing...he dealt with their "mountain" so to speak...
Mine issue was I had forgotten Gods special love towards me....once I got that I broke free from sickness and a pretty serious one at that...God help everyone to overcome their "mountain"...so they can function in Gods best for them... |
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| November 28, 2008 |
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Lori,
Thank God for you! Your testimony is awesome!
I am "Read Only" on Mike and Laura's blog because I challenged Mike on his circumstance theology and as a result, he blocked me. Mike does not seem to be interested in dialog. But, although I have been banned, I took special interest in his latest rant, If You Are Willing... You Can. I very much appreciated your great comments as someone who has been healed of real sickness. God is your helper only because you believe He is your helper. God is not able to come to the aid of anyone who scoffs at his promises.
Mike seems to think there is something wrong with having to admit that we're not looking at this thing the right way. Look at what he wrote: With four words, the apostle Paul confirms that physical illnesses are healed according to the mystery of God’s sovereign will, not according to some blanket promise which leaves us to blame for our own sickness and death. Mike doesn't think it's God's will that we not be "oppressed of the devil" because he's not convinced that sickness and disease are indeed oppression of the devil because, although he's read it, he evidently does not believe it (as evidenced in his own words in his blog). To Mike, the "blanket promise" of God is against us because it "leaves us to blame for our own" unbelief, which results in sickness. This is beyond absurd! But this is not the first time he has openly maligned the clear promises of God.
If God had never promised me anything, I would be better off because I would never be guilty of unbelief. It has a certain logic, doesn't it? But without the promises of God, there is NO WAY we can be righteous. God's promises are not against us, they are our only hope of right relationship with Him. Abraham believed the promise of God and upon that persuasion, God imputed His righteousness to him. To speak against the "blanket promise" of God is to malign the very basis of our relationship with Him. No promise, no relationship.
Religion has completely perverted our view. Instead of God's promise making us righteous, religion teaches that we should make promises to God. If God believes our promise of commitment to Him, the logic goes, then we are righteous. It's a perversion from the bowels of hell. And I used to believe every word of it - which is why I fell away. No promise, no relationship. I was convinced that I had to promise to God that I would never leave Him or forsake Him. Religion turned me upside down and it is still at work in the religious.
I've said too much,
Rob |
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| December 01, 2008 |
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Hey, great comments both Lori and Rob. Much appreciated.
So many terrific points made and I wish I had more time to respond. But it's kinda late and I've just been through battle with the enemy in trying to get Part 3 submitted. However, it is submitted cause I resisted that little punk and he went and hid under my bed. I'll be snoring in a few minutes and I hope it gets on his last nerve all night long!
And Rob, please let me say that I am sorry to hear that you have been banned from posting on Mike N Laura's blogs. But please refrain from using my blog as a rebuttal ground. I do indeed understand your frustration but this my friend is not the place. I am certain you understand.
I love you in Christ and I pray you receive my request in that light.
Michael |
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| December 02, 2008 |
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Michael,
I understand and I will honor your wish.
Rob |
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