445. BAD NEWS ABOUT HUMANS. OUR NEED FOR GOD’S HELP. Core Teaching Stage 3 Topic 1.

Posted on November 16, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

Are humans basically good or are they predisposed to evil? That has been a question in Psychology for many years. In 1914, soon after the outbreak of the war, English author H. G. Wells published a number of articles in London newspapers that eventually appeared as a book entitled The War That Will End War. However the First World War certainly did not end all wars for there followed the Second World War, the wars in Korea, Vietnam and others in this 21st century. It makes it difficult to believe that humans are basically good. Yet we should have learned from the lips of Jesus over 2000 years ago that humans have a built-in bias towards evil.

We need to be real in this life.  We need to recognise that no one is perfect. No one has had a perfect background in life. There have been many factors that have made us what we are today. It is not only the things that have happened to us but also our responses to those things that have helped form who we are. We all need healing in various areas of our lives in varying degrees so we may become more whole.

We need to understand the following about ourselves so that we can seek help from the Lord for ourselves and for others as we try to help them become the people God wants them and us to become. 

1.        HUMANS WERE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD TO BE LIKE HIM

Humans were created by God, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis1:26-27. 

They were created as living beings having personality and a  limited dominion over all creation, ‘And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”’ Genesis 1:28. 

They were also created with free-will, with the ability to choose, ‘And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”’ Genesis 2:16-17.

However, we know what happened as Adam and Eve both ate of the forbidden fruit and were cast out of the Garden of Eden. St Paul wrote of the consequence, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—.” Romans 5:12. The bias to evil has infected every human ever since. Spiritual death was also a consequence. 

After the Flood when God struck the earth in judgment, Noah built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings on the altar. God responded, “And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” Genesis 8:21. God Himself was stating the truth about humans that “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” The image of God has been marred through sin. There has existed a bias toward evil since the fall. King David was later to write about himself, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5.

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS. A human lived a perfect life and died a perfect death to remove human sin and to make it possible for humans to have fellowship with God again. Jesus became the only perfect human, and is the only perfect image of God, “but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:2-3. 

The other great news is this. God is restoring His image in His people, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29. This takes place as an ongoing process in the lifetime of His people as they live in obedience to Him on earth, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18. Humans are meant to be focused on Jesus, gazing on Him in adoration and praise. As they do so, they begin to reflect the object of their adoration and are being progressively transformed into His likeness. 

2.        THE IMAGE OF GOD WAS MARRED IN HUMANS.  No one Is Perfect. 

St Paul wrote that all people are under the power of sin, “we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin.” Romans 3:9. 

  • Pagans did not respond in faith and obedience to God’s general revelation of Himself in creation, Rom 1:19-23. “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21  For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

Not only did they reject God’s revelation of Himself but they made a choice. That was to throw their lot in with the devil, “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” Romans 1:25. 

God allowed them to do what they wanted to do in their rejection of Him, “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” Romans 1:28-32. “Gave up” means to hand over. He handed these humans over to do what they wanted in exercising their free-will.

  • Moralists. St Paul realised that there would be people who despised those who had no faith. He warned them, that recognising sin in others meant that they rendered themselves guilty before God, “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” Romans 2:1. 
  • Religious people (Jews of Jesus day). Paul also warned those who were Jews but were not living in obedience to God, “But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18  and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19  and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20  an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21  you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22  You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23  You who boast in the law dishonour God by breaking the law.” Romans 2:17-23. The Jews had special privileges as the people of God. However they were not exercising their responsibilities and were being unfaithful to God in spite of their privileges.

Paul poses the question, what advantage then do the Jews have, “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10  as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11  no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Romans 3:9-12.  

  • Paul sums up the whole case against all humans by writing, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Every human from whatever background is tainted with sin. No one is perfect. All are sinners. 

Here then is the dilemma of our human situation.  God is love but He is also holy. No human is, or ever could be, acceptable to Him of themselves.

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS! God accepts His people fully in Christ. Paul writes of those who have repented of sin and given their lives to God, that they are “justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:24-26. 

God has done what humans could not do for themselves. In His grace, mercy and love He has removed the barrier of sin through Christ’s redemptive death on the cross and has accepted those who have taken hold of that redemption by receiving Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Good news indeed!

3.        NO ONE BEHAVES PERFECTLY.  WE ARE ALL LAW-BREAKERS

God has declared what behaviour He wants for His people. We see that in all the commandments He gave to His people since creation. Much of it is summarised in the Decalogue, the 10 commandments, and in the teaching of Jesus. His 2 great commandments are indeed a summary of the 10 commandments but His teaching is full of what is required to be doing the will of God.  Then we have the teaching in the epistles which are full of instruction on how to become and live as a believer. 

But James in James 2:10 wrote, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”  That means that every human is guilty before God. We are all law-breakers. 

That truth is emphasised  by St John in his first epistle, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”1 John 1:8-10. Faith believes what God has said about the human race in His word.

We need to recognise that we are all sinners, always needing God’s grace and mercy. 

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS. God can help us to obey Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote in Romans 8 that those who are justified by faith [all believers] are able to have the requirements of the law fulfilled in them by Holy Spirit, as they walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Paul also encouraged the believers in Philippi to work out [not for] their salvation with the assurance that God would give them the motivation and the willingness to do the will of God, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13. They were to work out in practice in their daily lives what God was working in them by the presence and power of His Holy Spirit. 

4.        ALL PEOPLE NEED FORGIVENESS FROM GOD. 

God in His word states that all humans are sinners. What does that really mean? What is sin?  The New Testament has a number of different words to describe sin. These are some of them underlined below with a few examples of each of them. 

  • (adikia=unrighteousness, injustice, wronging someone). 
  • Acts 7:24  “And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. Writing about Moses.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:7, “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?”
  • 2 Corinthians 7:2, “Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.
  • 2 Corinthians 7:12, “So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God.”
  • (hamartia = a falling short).
  • Romans 2:12, “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.”
  • Romans 3:23, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
  • (Parabasis = transgress, go aside).
  • Romans 4:15, “For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.”
  • Gal 3:19 “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions.”
  • (Paraptoma = fall beside, err).
  • Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” 
  • 2 Corinthians 5:19, “that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
  • Heb 6:6, “and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”
  • (Atheteō = To reject.
  • Luke10:16, “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
  • John 12:48,  The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.”
  • Heb 10:28, “Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.”
  • (Parerchomai =to ignore or neglect, disobey.
  • Luke 15:29. Jesus is describing the elder son in the parable of the prodigal son, “but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.’”
  • 1 Peter 2:8,  and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”

Summing up we may say that the essence of sin is the rejection by humans of God’s authority over His creatures and their refusal to submit to His will. Humans have an inbuilt bias towards evil and choose to follow the desires of their imperfect hearts rather than seeking and doing the will of God.  It is wrongly using the freedom God has given them. That is, they choose to disobey and for that they are accountable.

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS. Forgiveness is available for all human sins in Christ (alone). Ephesians 1:7.-8,  ”In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8  which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.” Because Christ has died to take away the sin of the world, forgiveness is now available in Him.

Col 1:13-14, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” As members of Christ’s kingdom, believers have forgiveness of all their sins.

Acts 10:43, “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Forgiveness is available to all who trust in Christ.

5.        ALL PEOPLE NEED GOD’S CONTINUING GRACE TO LIVE AS THEY SHOULD.

What we all are by natural birth. Humans are separated, alienated, strangers, hopeless, godless, far off. These terms signify our perilous situation and our need for God. These words are found in just 2 verses in Ephesians 2:12-13, “remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” God has “brought near” or accepted into His family all those who trust in His Son for salvation 

  • Our spiritual blindness. 
  • Jesus said,“For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” Matthew 13:15. 
  • “Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, 40  “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.” John 12:39-40.
    • St Paul wrote, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”(Satan blinds people to truth, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4). 
  • Our spiritual deafness. Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
    • “And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 8:8.“Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24  For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Luke 10:23-24, 
    • “And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:9. 
  • Our spiritual deadness. 
    • “Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— “. Ephesians 2:5. 
    • “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses.” Colossians 2:13.  
    • “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Gal 5:17ff.  There is a problem with our old nature, the nature we were born with, the flesh. It is opposed to the Spirit of God.
  • A MIRACLE IS NEEDED FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE AS THEY SHOULD.

We were once spiritually blind, deaf, dead etc. until we were born again. 

Those whom we are trying to help are also spiritually dead, deaf etc until they are born of his Spirit. Jesus said in John 3:3, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” He then answered Nicodemus’ question, “Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ 5  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:4-8.  The new birth is necessary for anyone to be able to enter into the kingdom of God and to be  able to understand spiritual realities. That should drive us to prayer and a reliance on God Himself to minister through us as His instruments as we seek to help others.  Unless the Holy Spirit quickens their hearts and gives them the ability to understand spiritual realities, they remain spiritually dead and deaf.

TO CONSIDER: What are the dangers of thinking that all humans are intrinsically good and just need education to become better? It seems that the Lord Himself has a problem with that understanding for He taught the exact opposite. He taught that evil arose from within humans, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22  coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Matthew 7:21-23. 

There is also a problem helping others if we believe the wrong thing about them. They cannot come to know God nor walk in His ways if we don’t tell them the truth about the weakness of fallen human nature and encourage them to put their trust in Christ as Saviour. Salvation comes freely from the grace of God and not from any human effort which neglects the Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Preaching of the early Church. They preached Jesus as the One who had opened the door to heaven to all those who believed and in whom all that is needed to live to His glory, is to be  found.

5.        ALL PEOPLE NEED GOD’S GRACE TO BE ACCEPTED BY HIM.

  • God set the grounds for our acceptance. It is His nature to forgive and receive all those who come to Him in repentance and faith, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He us faithful to His promises to forgive all those who come to Him in repentance andfaith.
  • God took the initiative in making it possible for sinful humans to be forgiven, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Some writers have called this a divine exchange. Christ took on Himself all the sin of the world and in exchange gave them His righteousness or right standing with God  as they trusted in Him.
  • God enables us to live for Him, “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. 25  For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”1 Peter 2:24-25.  He enables us to live righteous lives.
  • Christ sacrificed Himself for us, “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13  waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:11-14. His single offering of Himself on the cross means that those who respond to Him have been sanctified or set apart to live for Him.
  • Because of this grace, we can boldly enter God’s presence through Christ, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21  and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22. 

All God’s riches are available to His people in Christ. ”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:3. 

Indeed, every need we have is supplied in Him, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19. 

We are fellow heirs with Christ, “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Romans 8:15-17. 

God has done everything for salvation for us humans, in the death, resurrection and ascension of His Son and in His pouring out His Spirit on all who turn to Him in repentance, faith and obedience. 

BUT. We humans have to take hold of His grace in receiving Christ as Saviour and Lord. Faith humbly believes the gospel message and in gratitude appropriates God’s gracious provision for all our needs in Him.

Blog No.445 posted on Wednesday 16 November 2022.

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Justification, New Covenant, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Second coming of Jesus, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

444. SUMMARY OF CORE TEACHING ON HEALING TOPICS STAGE 2

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

I have posted several topics on this site giving teaching on Stages 1and 2 that I developed and taught as Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney when I was the Leader from 1988 to 2006. I was then privileged to share it with the Healing Ministry at All Saints Episcopal church in Winter Park [near Orlando] between 1999 and 2012. There are 5 Stages altogether with 5 or 6 topics in each stage which I will try to publish in coming months/years, God willing. 

I have summarised the previous blogs for the Stage 2 teaching below for your convenience and for a resource that you can refer to at any time. These are the links to those articles.

Blog No.435 https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/10/05/435-becoming-the-person-god-wants-you-to-be-living-in-the-kingdom-of-god-core-teaching-stage-2-topic-1/

Blog No.436 https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/10/12/436-core-2-topic-2-the-freedom-that-comes-from-forgiveness-a-guide-on-how-to-really-forgive-another-person/

Blog No.437 https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/10/18/437-getting-the-right-focus-to-obtain-wholeness-in-life-based-on-2-corinthians-chapters-3-and-4/

Blog No.438 https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/10/19/438-the-value-of-the-ministry-of-prayer-with-the-laying-on-of-hands-core-2-topic-4a/

Blog No.439 https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/10/20/439-guidelines-for-praying-for-people-with-the-laying-on-of-hands-core-2-topic-4b-this-follows-on-from-the-previous-article-no-438-on-the-biblical-background-to-the-laying-on-of-hands/

Blog No.440 https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/10/27/440-prayer-and-the-prayer-of-faith-core-teaching-stage-2-topic-5/

Blog No.442 https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/11/09/442-gods-grace-is-available-to-those-who-have-faith-core-teaching-stage-2-topic-6/

Blog No.444 posted on Friday 11 November 2022

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, HEALING MINISTRY Core Teaching, Studies in Psalm 139 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

443. CORE TEACHING ON HEALING. SUMMARY OF STAGE 1 TOPICS

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

I have posted several topics on this site giving teaching on Stage 1 that I developed and taught as Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney when I was the Leader from 1988 to 2006. I was then privileged to share it with the Healing Ministry at All Saints Episcopal church in Winter Park [near Orlando] between 1999 and 2012. There are 5 Stages altogether with 5 or 6 topics in each stage which I will try to publish in coming months/years, God willing. 

I have summarised the previous blogs for the Stage1 teaching below for your convenience and for a resource that you can refer to at any time. These are the links to those articles.

CORE TEACHING STAGE 1.

Topic 1. No.427. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/09/16/427-becoming-the-people-god-wants-us-to-be-core-teaching-stage-1-topic-1/

Topic 2. No.428. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/09/20/428-the-freedom-that-comes-from-forgiving-an-extract/

Topic 2. No.429. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/09/22/429-the-freedom-that-comes-from-forgiveness-core-teaching-stage-1-topic-2/

Topic 3a. No.430. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/09/24/430-becoming-open-to-god-psalm-139-a-prayer-based-on-the-character-of-god-core-teaching-stage-1-topic-3/

Topic 3b. No. 431. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/09/25/431-asking-the-god-who-searches-all-things-to-search-us-psalm-139-core-1-topic-3/

Topic 4. No.432. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/09/29/432-learning-to-recognise-and-remove-barriers-to-healing-core-1-topic-4/

Topic  4a. No.433. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/09/30/434-how-to-become-more-open-to-receive-gods-healing-core-1-topic-4a-this-follows-on-from-the-previous-article-no-433/

Topic 5. No.434. https://jimholbeck.blog/2022/10/03/434-how-to-hang-in-for-healing-and-blessing-core-teaching-stage-1-topic-5/

This is Blog No.443 posted on Friday 11 November 2022.

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, HEALING MINISTRY Core Teaching, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, New Covenant, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Second coming of Jesus, spiritual warfare, Studies in Psalm 139, Temptations, TOPICS | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

442. GOD’S GRACE IS AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH. [Core Teaching Stage 2. Topic 6].

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

What is grace? One definition is “The unmerited love and favour of God toward human beings.” That is the meaning behind the various forms of the word. One of the terms that became well known during the Reformation was the term Sola gratia. This means  “grace alone,” and says sinners are saved as an unearned gift of God’s grace, “not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8–9).

The noun “grace” is from [charis; χάρις]. Other related words are [charisma] meaning a gift; [charitoo] a verb meaning to give as a gift. God delights to give His children His grace to enable them to function as His instruments in His world. He gives us [“Grace to KNOW the will of God; grace to BE in the centre of His will, and grace to DO His will.“) God’s grace to humans is not just a static doctrine to believe but also a description of God’s ways with humans upon whom He pours out His undeserving grace. 

1.        ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD IS BY THE GRACE OF GOD. 

Salvation.  St Paul wrote that our salvation comes from the grace of God. Our part is simply accepting the gift of His grace, Jesus Himself, and devoting our lives to serving Him. [Ephesians 2:8]  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not  from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”  

Even the faith to believe comes from God’s grace at work in our hearts and lives, (Romans 1:16)  “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for  the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the  Gentile.” All that is required for salvation is faith in the gospel message of the person of Jesus crucified, risen and coming into the lives of all those who open their hearts to Him.  

(Rom 10:9)  “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe  in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Paul adds the other necessary step in salvation, namely that believers must be willing to confess Jesus as Lord over their lives in addition to believing on Him in their hearts. It means being willing to verbally respond to His grace in our lives.

The value of having people in our background who encourage us to understand salvation as coming from the grace of God is seen in the life of Timothy to whom St Paul wrote 2 letters that feature in the New Testament, 1 and 2 Timothy. His grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice had shared their faith with Timothy as Paul acknowledged in 2 Timothy 1:5 “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” AND 2 Timothy 3:15, “and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 

St Peter had been born again through accepting the message of hope in Christ and was awaiting the fullness of that salvation at the second coming of Christ, 1Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” The phrase “he has caused us to be born again” translates the word [anagennaō;  ἀναγεννάω] to be born again and shows God’s initiative in the new birth. It is as we believe that God allows the new birth to take place in His people. The Authorised Version translates the phrase as “hath begotten us again” while the NIV and CSB have “He has given us new birth.” We cannot be born again in our own strength or by our own devices. God is the only one who can cause it to happen and He does so when we believe.

Belonging to the family of God. This is the grace of God towards His children. He receives into His family all those who come to Him by faith in His Son. They cannot deserve God’s acceptance, nor do anything to earn it. All they can do is to receive it as God’s gift in Christ. 

Gal 3:24  “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26  “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” The Old Testament law had a purpose in guiding people into an understanding of God’s ways and purposes. It showed that people were unable to perfectly obey the law and made them look elsewhere for that acceptance. The law which pointed to Jesus showed them the way of faith and many embraced salvation and acceptance with God, in Him.

Jesus’ message was about peace with God and acceptance by Him into His family. He gave all those who responded to Him the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through that same Spirit they all had equal access to God and became members of the family of God. Eph 2:17-19. “And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18  For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”

St Paul was graced with a message  to bring to the Gentiles the good news of the unsearchable riches God had given His people in Christ. Eph 3:8 -12. “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9  and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10  so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11  This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12  in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”

Boldness and access to God with confidence is the mark of God’s grace to His people. They could never deserve or earn it.

  • ANSWERS TO PRAYER ARE FROM GOD’S GRACE. Faith accepts the promises of God

Jesus’ promises of answers to prayer. His promises are based on God’s grace.

[Mark 11:22-24,  “”Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23  “”I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go,  throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that  what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24  “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”] These words followed the discovery by the disciples that the fig tree that Jesus had cursed only hours before was completely withered. As they expressed their amazement Jesus encouraged them with His promise that if they had true faith in God, their words uttered in faith could bring dramatic results. Not only that but when they prayed they were to thank God by faith for the answer that was already theirs and was sure to come. The gifts from His grace!

Matthew records similar words from Jesus “And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22  And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” [Mat 21:21-22].  When there is no doubt, believers can expect great answers to the prayers they pray, so that whatever they ask for in prayer, they will receive. This is the grace of God at work in answers to prayer.

In John 19:10 Jesus said, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11  Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 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.“ Jesus was teaching His disciples about the unity which existed between the Father and Himself. The words Jesus spoke were from the Father. The works Jesus performed were the result of the Father working through Him. They were one in their words and works. Jesus went on to affirm that because of His followers’ faith in Him, they could pray prayers that would bring great results for whatever they asked. Jesus Himself would do it for them to the glory of God.

Other writers

James. “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven.” James 5:15.  Those people who came to God believing that He would meet their need, would experience His healing grace in the healing of their sickness and His grace in receiving forgiveness of their sins. The prayer of faith is not some magical formula that always works. Rather it is the prayer uttered in faith that God will hear and answer the prayer. It is calling on the grace of God for an answer to their need. 

Paul. “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the  Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” Galatians 3:2. Paul wanted the believers to cast their minds back to when they were born again of the Spirit of God. They would remember that what they had done to be  born again was to believe in the gospel message they had heard of the grace of God in Jesus’ death for them. 

John.  “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us‑‑whatever we ask‑‑we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15.  Fancy a Creator being willing to listen to those creatures who had rebelled against Him but had now come to trust Him! Not only is He willing to hear the prayers of those who are now His, but He promises to grant their requests. This is the grace of God at work in forgiving sinners and in providing for their needs as they pray to Him! 

  • FAITH RELEASES THE GRACE OF GOD INTO OUR LIVES

The word for “salvation” is soteria, meaning wholeness. That means healing in all its various categories such as physical healing, emotional healing, relationship healing and spiritual healing as those who were once in darkness are brought into God’s light.

We see the grace of God described in Colossians 2:13  “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” In these verses, we read of God’s grace in bringing people from spiritual death into spiritual life. He also forgave all the sins of those who trusted in Christ’s death for them on the cross. Not only that but He disarmed the powers of darkness that had held people captive and brought His people into freedom.

We see His grace at work as Jesus fulfilled many of the Old Testament prophecies such as those in Isaiah 53 in the following table

(Isa 53:4)  “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we  considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.” (Mat 8:17)  “This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He  took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.” Therefore Physical and emotional healing.
(Isa 53:5)  “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our  iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds  we are healed.”(1 Pet 2:24)  “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we  might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been  healed.” Therefore Spiritual healing.
Prophecies and their fulfilment.

God’s grace was seen in the healing of a woman who may have been influenced by such Old Testament prophecies as she believed that she could be healed by simply touching the hem of Jesus’ garment, Mat 9:20 ‘And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21  for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22  Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.”’ There was no power in the garment to heal. Her healing came as she reached out in faith to receive her healing from Jesus. Her faith had opened the door for the grace and power of God to touch her body and she was healed.

God’s grace was seen in the Promised Holy Spirit entering into our lives

(Gal 3:14)  “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might  come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” It would seem here that the promise of blessing given to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the world would be blessed, was indeed fulfilled as the Holy Spirit was poured out on all those who believed from every nation. The Holy Spirit would seal them as God’s possession and open up to them the resources of God’s kingdom.

God’s grace in giving us peace in our lives

Isaiah had written, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”  Isaiah 26:3. Trusting in the Lord can give us a steadfast mind because it is focussed on Him who is steadfast and unchanging.

But peace can be forfeited. Isaiah was told by the Lord to speak to His people who had rebelled against Him, “For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD.” Isaiah 30:9.  He told them what they needed  to do, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In  repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,  but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15.)  God’s grace of peace was available to them but they needed to repent and return to Him to experience it.

St Paul wrote about the need for God’s people to get rid of their anxieties and to hand everything over to God in prayer, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7. God gave them the assurance that if they did hand everything over to God in prayer, His peace would act as a sentry in keeping their hearts and minds safe. [“Guard” here is (phroureō; φρουρέω) meaning to guard as a sentinel.]

  • Justification [being made right with God] comes from the grace of God. 

Paul wrote to the church in Rome, Rom 3:24 “they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24. Because Jesus had redeemed His people by dying for their sins, God could now accept them freely by His grace as a gift to be received in receiving Christ as Saviour and Lord.

When Paul wrote to Titus he reminded  him that believers are justified by the grace of God, “so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:7. Their being declared righteous by God and being accepted as His children was the expression of His amazing grace to them in Christ.

Paul warned the believers in Galatia, that trying to get right with God by seeking to obey the law would mean they were falling away from grace and cutting themselves off from Christ. “You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” Galatians 5:4.

  • God’s provision of grace for our everyday lives

Prosperity. “A greedy man stirs up dissension, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.” (Proverbs 28:25)  The desire for God leads to peace and the reception of the grace of God but greediness brings dissension.

Material needs. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these  things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33. The focus has to be on God who in His grace provides us with all we need. Our focus has to be on Him, not on what He could provide.

Strength to conquer. Believers go through many difficulties in life but His grace is able to enable us to conquer. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37. Not just conquering but more than conquering! But only through Him.

There was a time when Paul faced a problem. He prayed 3 times for God to remove it, but God’s answer was this, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9. Whatever need Paul might have, the grace of God was more than sufficient to enable him to cope. 

An experience of God’s love. God’s grace expressed in His love was always available to every believer, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39  nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.

Comfort. All of us need comfort at certain times of our life. God in His grace is able to provide us with His comfort, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…  who comforts us in all our troubles…” 2 Corinthians 1:3.

Wisdom. Believers need to live by the wisdom of God and not by their human wisdom. God in His grace promises to grant His wisdom to those who seek it, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives  generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt  … .” James 1:5-6. 

SUMMARY

God in His love and from the riches of His grace provides for us. Faith humbly accepts His provision for our needs. [He gives us “Grace to KNOW the will of God; grace to BE in the centre of His will, and grace to DO His will.“)

Blog No.442 posted on Wednesday 09 November 2022

Posted in Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, New Covenant, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Second coming of Jesus, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

441. Memories One Can Never Forget. “Your wife has just passed away.”

Posted on October 28, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

As I write this today I recall just 3 years ago yesterday [on the last Thursday of the month 31 October 2019] I was about to leave my beloved wife Carole in the Palliative Care ward in a neighbouring town. She always wanted me to drive home before it got dark and I was fulfilling her wishes. But it had been a very sad day. Carole had been lying there all day and no communication had been possible with her for all the hours I spent at her bedside that day. 

As I rose to leave, I thought I would whisper in her ear that I loved her very much and would be back early the next day. As I did so I went on to add words like, “Carole, if you want to go home to the Lord and to your Mum and Dad, I will be alright. Thank you for having loved me for these wonderful 53 years together. I love you! See you in the morning.”

As I walked out of the room, I turned to look at my beloved again with the hope that I would see a miracle, such as her awaking and perhaps saying, “The Lord has healed me.” [That had been my prayer that the Lord would surprise all the medical experts who had told me some days before that Carole could not live longer than a few days.] But she didn’t awaken and so I committed her body, mind and spirit to the Lord so that His will would be accomplished in her life. I drove home thanking the Lord that He had heard my prayer and would answer it in His way and in His time. 

Fortunately for me two of our 3 children were at my home. Just two hours later the staff at the Palliative Care ward rang to say that they had prepared Carole for the night but when they returned a few minutes later they found that she had passed away. How does one cope when one hears the worst news that one could possibly hear? I found myself ringing, texting and emailing all my family and friends who had loved her so much and writing a tribute to her expressing all she had meant to me and to every person she had ever been in contact with. 

I had always counselled those who were bereaved to ask the Lord to enable them to cope in the best way possible for them and to remember that every person is different. There is no one pattern for coping. In the days before Carole’s thanksgiving service I had asked folk here in Australia and in America to send me any memories they had of Carole so that we could read some of them out in the service. As the replies came in, I was quite moved by the depth of appreciation and love that so many people had for Carole. Their words blessed me enormously and continue to bless me as I recall some of them from time to time.

Now 3 years later, how am I coping? It took me a while to get back into the swing of things. Attending church was not easy, for Carole and I would sit together during the service, a privilege that had not been ours during the 38 years when I was leading services out front. Suddenly it was just me sitting alone. I had read about many bereaved folk saying that they felt the presence of their departed loved ones in the home each day. But what I felt was Carole’s absence. Yet I have a firm picture in my mind of Carole being with Jesus from the moment she drew her last breath. “Absent from the body. Present with the Lord” were the words I had engraved on her plaque on her resting place at the Cemetery. That is my firm conviction, and my certain hope is that I will join her on that day when the Lord says, “Time to come home, Jim.”

Carole had always encouraged me in ministry even when she first came into the Youth Group I was leading and right throughout my ministry. So I felt led to continue writing blog articles knowing that is what she wanted me to do and believing that was what the Lord wanted me to do as well. One of the joys I have each day is switching on my computer and seeing a photo of Carole taken by a photographer just before she was driven to church for our wedding. Carole didn’t like having her photo taken at any time but this is a beautiful photo of a beautiful girl about to give herself in marriage to the most blessed man in the world -me! The photo always gives me a deep stab of sadness before I go on to praise the Lord for bringing Carole into my life and blessing our marriage for 53 wonderful years. That has led to the joy of having three children, four grandchildren and three step grandchildren. My sadness turns into praise and thanksgiving to God for the gifts of His grace in the people He brought into my life, especially my beloved Carole.

Yes, I am coping, but life is different. I feel that much of my life died when Carole passed away. I no longer have the love of my life to have and to hold and to tell her how much I love her. I have lost my very best friend ever. No longer do I hear those words, ”I love you so much!” nor feel those loving arms around me. Life is different. Yet in spite of all that I have lost, I am extremely grateful for all the blessings He has poured out on me and on our family over all those years. God is love and He pours His love into human hearts which are open to Him. Romans 5:5 “and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

How wonderful it has been to experience the love of God through Carole’s heart and through her lips as she expressed her love for me. I often prayed this prayer as I married couples, “Lord, in Your love deepen their love!” It was certainly like that for me as I experienced God’s love being poured out on me through the deep love Carole poured out on me!

To God be the glory! Great things He has done! [And is continuing to do in His great mercy and love.]

Blog No.441 posted on Friday 28 October 2022

Posted in Coping With Personal Grief, Faithfulness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Mental Health, Mini Reflections, Prayer, Real Life Stories, Salvation, Sanctification, Tributes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

440. PRAYER AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH. [Core Teaching Stage 2 Topic 5.]

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

In this article, we look at how prayer has to be based on the character of God, and on the promises He has revealed to us in His word. We look in particular at the term “prayer of faith” in James 5:15 to see what is meant by the term.

1].  THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 

The term “the prayer of faith” is mentioned only in James 5:13-15. 

James 5:13  “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” The Greek structure of the phrase is simply as follows 

  η  ευχητης   πιστεωςσωσει τον    καμνοντα  
and the prayerof the faithwill savethe sick

We look at some interesting aspects of verse 15 in that passage. 

i]. The word for “sick” in 5:14, is the verb astheneo, which is used in various forms to denote illness or weakness. (See also Matthew 10:8, Luke 13:11, Acts 9:37, John 4:46, 5:7,  6:2). In verse 15 “sick” is another word kamnonta from [kamneo] meaning tiredness or weariness leading to physical weariness or illness.

The sick person is to call for the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 

ii]. “To pray over him.” The word for “pray” [proseuchomai; προσεύχομαι] is always used of prayer to God. God’s healing power is being sought for the sick person.

iii]. “anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” This word “anoint” [aleiphō; ἀλείφω] is used in association with oil, such as in Mark 16:1, Luke 7:38, 46, John 11:2, 12:3 where it is used for anointing Jesus, and in Mark 6:13, where it is used of the 12 anointing many sick people with oil, and healing them.  (We notice in passing, that when the 70 were sent out later, there was no reference to anointing, nor in Mark 16:18, “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.”).

iv.  “In the name of the Lord”, indicates  that ministry is offered on the basis of who Jesus is, and on what He has done. It is never on the basis of our name, who we are or what we have done. Jesus has established the kingdom of God and healing is one of the blessings coming from His kingdom power. 

v.  “The prayer of faith”. 5:15.  The NIV, translation “the prayer offered in faith” is probably a very good interpretation. Faith is seen in the sick person, and in all those involved in responding to the sick person’s need. The latter identify with the sick person in seeking God’s help for him. They are also identifying with God in His promise to answer prayers offered in faith for the man’s healing and showing their willingness to be used as instruments through whom His healing may flow.

2]. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN FAITH AND ANSWERS TO PRAYER

In the teaching of Jesus. 

Matthew 18:19-20. “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” The dual promise of the promise of His presence and the promise of answered prayer when two or more agree together in prayer.

Mat.21:21‑22. ...22. “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive if you have faith.” [In Mark 11:22‑26,  “and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” ] 11:24, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, (literally ‘pray’ and ‘ask’) believe that you receive it, and you will.” Prayer has to be based on the character of God and not on the character of our faith. It is faith in Him and in His promises and not faith in our character or faith in our faith.

John 14:12‑14. The context is doing the works of God by the disciples of Christ. “… Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, … if you ask anything in my name I will do it.”

John 15:16. This is in the context of Jesus stressing the need for His disciples to live in an intimate relationship with Himself.   “… so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.”

John 16:23,24.“.. If you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” God delights to answer the prayers of those who trust in Christ and who pray in His name!

In other New Testament writers. 

St Paul. Ephesians 3:20-21 encourages us to raise our expectancy as to what God can do in us by His power, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly [hyperperissōs; ὑπερπερισσῶς is the only occurrence in the Greek New Testament] than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

No matter what we can ask for, or even imagine in our wildest imagination, God can do infinitely more. 

St John.  (Some conditions for receiving answers to prayer).

1 John 3:22. “And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him. God intends His people in every generation to submit to Him and to follow all His commandments. He is pleased when they do so!

1 John 5:14‑15,  “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  15. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made  of Him.” John writes here of two assurances we can have in our relationship with Him. Firstly we have the assurance that He actually hears us when we pray according to His will. Secondly we have the assurance that those prayers will be answered.

Recent writers and the Prayer of faith. 

Colin Urquhart. “You are to speak with faith to the mountains of opposition and need, and command them to depart.  .. If we do not allow the Spirit to guide and lead our praying, then we shall often pray in the wrong way and meet with a negative response from the Lord.” (In Christ Jesus, p.162 )

Canon John Gunstone warns, “We’re called to believe in God, not to have faith in our faith!” (The Lord is our Healer p.181)

Canon Jim Glennon. ”  when one prays in faith, it is remarkable how much discernment is given by the Spirit as to how to pray, and minister appropriately.” (Your Healing is within you, p.168). 

The Prayer of Faith is based on the premise that healing has been made available, and in faith we learn to draw upon the resources for healing that exist in Him, in His unsearchable riches in Christ. [Ephesians 3:6]. 

Blog No.440 posted on Thursday 27 October 2022

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, HEALING MINISTRY Core Teaching, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, New Covenant, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, Second coming of Jesus, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

439. GUIDELINES FOR PRAYING FOR PEOPLE WITH THE LAYING ON OF HANDS. Core 2 Topic 4B. [This follows on from the previous article No.438 on the biblical background to the Laying on of hands.]

Posted on October 20, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

The following were guidelines for those who were authorised to pray for people at the Healing Services in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney when I was the Leader of the Healing Ministry from 1988 to 2006. They have been adapted to be helpful for those who may have opportunities to pray for people at other times and in other places. It may be in a Healing Service or even in a home with just a few folk present. These are helpful hints based on the scriptures to try to ensure that when people are prayed for, it is a safe environment and conducive for God’s healing to flow.

1].       TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES TO PRAY

The tendency is to think that because all the facts about a person can’t be ascertained, that it’s not worthwhile praying. Remember that God knows exactly the whole life history (and needs) of the person before us. He is the God who heals, as he told His people Israel, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.” Exodus 15:26.  [Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who Heals. ] 

Throughout the Old and New Testaments and even to today, God has been healing people. That is His unchanging nature and character. His ears are always open to the prayers of His people. That is why we should take all the opportunities to pray for people who request prayer, for the Lord will hear our prayers for them.

2].       LISTEN TO THE PERSON WHO WANTS PRAYER SUPPORT

2.1.     The first thing to recognise is that all people have areas of need in varying degrees, whether they recognise them or not. As people are exposed to the truths of the Bible, such as the reading of the Scriptures in church or personally, or through biblical preaching, the Holy Spirit will minister part of that word to people present. 

St Paul reminded Timothy of the power of God’s word in the scriptures, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. I remember as a very young believer watching people in the congregation during a sermon to see who might be coming under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit as they were exposed to the truths of the scriptures. Many indeed were! God uses His word in powerful ways.

2.2.     However the Holy Spirit may use God’s word to begin a train of thought which triggers a need in a person,  which has only a faint relevance to the passage preached on in a church service. Remember the words of Isaiah 55:11, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God says that His word accomplishes what He purposed it to accomplish which might not be the same as the purpose the preacher had in mind. God can use any part of His divine word to trigger different needs in different people even in the one service of worship.

2.3.     The approach to the person.

  • It is wise to have at least two people pray for the person. It gives a wider prayer base. It hinders the “lone-ranger” type of Christian who is not accountable to anyone. There are also good theological reasons. Matthew 18:19-20, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Jesus was obviously encouraging His followers to come to a common mind as they prayed. So there is the promise of His presence and also the promise of His answer to prayer.
  • The prayer should be made as personal as possible. If they are willing to give us their first name, then we can use it sparingly in the prayer. (Without overdoing it).
  • The question asked of the person requesting prayer support could be in the form of “What is your area of need?” or “What would you like us to pray for you?” Or “What would you like the Lord to do for you?” It is asking the person to express their need as they perceive it. Prayer should be made for the meeting of that expressed need. People will feel rejected if prayer is made for them which completely ignores their request.
  • Don’t allow the person to give a whole life history, unless it is suitable for that to happen. On most occasions that is not appropriate.
  • Don’t try to give them advice. If you are meeting the person for the first time you are in no position to give them any meaningful advice. Your praying for them may facilitate a greater openness on their part to share greater needs with another person in the future.  (God does in fact have quite a few insights about the person and their real needs!) 
  • You are asked to pray in a believing way for the person, expecting that God will bring some positive change within the person, or within the person’s situation now or later. 

3].        HOW TO PRAY FOR THE PERSON

3.1.     Don’t rush into speaking out in prayer. Spend just a few moments in quiet prayer as you try to formulate what to pray audibly for them. [Moments, not minutes!]

3.2.     Ask the person whether you can lay hands on the person’s shoulder, forehead, or arm. The person needs to feel that their private space has not been invaded. Be prepared that some people will reply, “No!” Definitely do not touch them if they have not given you permission to do so.

3.3.     There is no need to pray loudly. In a church service setting it is inappropriate for loud prayers to be made. Most people are very sensitive about sharing their needs with their fellow humans and don’t want their expressed needs broadcast widely in a congregation. And besides, God is not deaf!

3.4.     Though most people asking for prayer will normally close their eyes as prayer commences,  there may be some who, because of their background, want to keep their eyes open.  It may be helpful for the pray-ers to pray with eyes open to notice any physical or emotional changes taking place in the person as they are being prayed for.

3.5.     If you feel there is another area of need in addition to the area mentioned by the person,  then you need to be careful as to what you do. Just to go ahead and pray for a need to be met that they haven’t shared with you can be very off-putting for the person. It is better having prayed for the person to ask them if there is anything else you can bring before the Lord for them, or you can say “Is there anything else you would like the Lord to do for you?” If they say ”No!” then just thank the person for the privilege they gave you in praying for them. 

 3.6.    Where there are 2 or more people praying for the person, It is better for each person to pray shorter prayers, than for one person to monopolise the whole time for prayer. Prayers should be direct and to the point, for God does know the problem. 

3.7      In most congregations, it is not wise to pray audibly in tongues in this time-limited context when the person is unfamiliar with the church or the group. Unfortunately the teaching in some churches is that tongues is demonic. Though of course that is incorrect, if the person has been taught that, then they could really freak out when they hear tongues being prayed over them and are unprepared for it. 

  • It is not appropriate to pray prayers of deliverance in this time-limited context either unless it is obvious that the person needs to be given some peace. 

What is ultimately required of people who have been involved with the occult or with any of the powers of darkness etc., is repentance of sin,  renunciation of any evil influence they may have been exposed to and a willingness to live under the Lordship of Christ. This takes longer than any brief prayer time in a church service setting.  

4].       WHAT  TO DO AFTER THE LAYING ON OF HANDS MINISTRY 

4.1.     Maintain confidentiality. Trust is a privilege not to be abused. The person has given you privileged information and you are not to share it without their consent. The only exception may be to share it with the church leader or the leader of your prayer group.

4.2.     Encourage the person to come again to the service or to the prayer group, for continued support in prayer. Even in the ministry of Jesus we see immediate, gradual and delayed healing.  In the meantime, we can thank the Lord by faith for the answers we have now in Christ,  until we can thank Him by sight.  John in 1 John 5:14-15 wrote, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” There is a two-fold confidence in these verses. One is that when we pray according to the will of God, He hears us. The second is that we now possess the answers to the prayers we prayed. But as always, God’s answers [though we already have them in Christ] come in His way, in His time and through whom He wishes. 

4.3.     If you have the opportunity, encourage them to read the Bible, and to join in Christian fellowship. It is not right for people in a church healing ministry service to criticise other religious denominations. If they have no church affiliation, encourage them to keep on coming to the service they have just attended or to a church where the Bible is preached and where prayers are offered for healing. 

[TO REMEMBER.] The church is the body of Christ in this world and God uses the different members of His body to achieve His purposes. It may be that God has guided a person to come to our particular church or prayer group to receive prayer for their healing. But we may be only a part of the chain of people He desires to use for their healing. So it all doesn’t depend on us. What we need to do is to be prepared spiritually to play the part God has in mind for us in this person’s healing and to trust Him to bring more healing through other members of His body. In other words, our goal is to be faithful to His calling to fulfil the role He has in store for us. It is faithfulness rather than successfulness [in human terms] that is to be our goal in any healing ministry.  

Blog No.439 posted on Thursday 20 October 2022.

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Coping With Personal Grief, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, HEALING MINISTRY Core Teaching, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

438. THE VALUE OF THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER WITH THE LAYING ON OF HANDS. Core 2 Topic 4A 

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

James in chapter 5:13 writes that we need to have the right sort of attitudes in life.  “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy?  Let him sing songs of praise.” If that is so, what is the person who becomes ill meant to do? James gives us the answer in  5:14,  “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”  

1.        THE APPROPRIATE ATTITUDE IN TIME OF SICKNESS.

James 5:14,  “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church  to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.”  

What were the advantages of a sick person calling for the elders?

a.        It was an invitation to other people to support the sick person in his time of need.

It is not easy to be positive and affirming of God’s love and power when you feel weak.  Sickness takes many forms. In the New Testament there are several words used to describe sickness or weakness. They include words such as:-

  • [astheneō; ἀσθενέω] means to be weak or feeble. This is the word in James 5:14. 
  • [kamnō; κάμνω] is used in James 5:15, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.” This has a sense of weariness and the lack of physical strength. 
  • [noseō; νοσέω] in 1 Timothy 6:4, “He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words.” This has to do with mental imbalance or unhealthy preoccupation.
  • [sunechō; συνέχω] in Acts 28:8 meaning to be  held fast or constricted, “It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery.”  The adverb [kakōs; κακῶς] is used with a derivative of this verb to denote illness in Matthew 8:16. “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick.”

Moses once needed the support of others as he prayed for victory over God’s enemies. Exodus 17:10-13. “So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11  Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12  But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13  And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.” Praying for someone is similar to this in supporting them in their weakness. 

b.        It was an invitation to God for His help in his sickness. 

The prayer that is uttered by the sick person and by the elders, is called here the prayer of faith. It means that all present look to God in faith, believing that the healing has to come from Him. The prayer of faith is not some magical chant that always works or some set form of words. Rather it is the prayer coming from the faith in an individual or in a number of people as they pray for God to work in the life of the person being prayed for. 

c.         It was an invitation to God for Him to work His work in the individual.

The prayer of faith is the means by which we humans can draw upon the resources God has for His people.  It is not faith in prayer, nor faith in faith, but faith in God Himself. Thus as James says in 5:15, the Lord will raise up the sick man, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” The elders don’t raise up the sick man. God does, in answer to their prayers. 

2.        GOD’S GREATER PURPOSE IN HEALING US. WHOLENESS IN EVERY AREA OF LIFE

James in chapter 5, links physical healing with spiritual healing. Not only will the Lord raise up the sick person, but the person’s sins will be forgiven.  Compare the story in Mark 2, where Jesus healed a paralytic and forgave him of his sins. God is interested in wholeness in every part of our lives. 

Indeed the word for “salvation” is [sōtēria; nσωτηρία] which means wholeness, healing,  preservation, safety. The verb [sōzō; σώζω] can mean both to save and to heal as in Mark 5:34‘And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”’

The healing ministry of the church seeks to bring physical, emotional, spiritual and relationship healing to those who come seeking help. 

3.        WHY ENGAGE IN THE LAYING ON OF HANDS?

We need to look to the Bible to see its significance. We first look briefly at the Old Testament.

LAYING ON OF HANDS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

1]. It was used metaphorically to denote punishment by God. 

  • Exodus 7:4, “ Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.”
  • Jeremiah 15:6, “You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.”
  • Ezekiel 39:21, “And I will set my glory among the nations, and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them.”
  • Nehemiah 13:21. ”But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.”

2]. It was used to express human identification with God in His punishment.

Leviticus  24:14, ‘Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him...  

3]. It was used to describe being consecrated for service. 

  • Numbers 8:10, “When you bring the Levites before the LORD, the people of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.”
  • Numbers 27:18, ‘So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.”’
  • Numbers 27:22-23, “And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23  and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.”

4]. It was used to describe the laying on of hands on animals for sacrifice for sin.

  • Leviticus 8:14, “Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.”
  • Lev 8:18, “Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.”
  • Lev 8:22, “Then he presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.”
  • Exodus 29:10, “Then you shall bring the bull before the tent of meeting. Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.”
  • Exod 29:15, “Then you shall take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram”
  • Exod 29:19, “You shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram”
  • Leviticus  1:4, “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”
  • Leviticus  16:21, “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.”
  • Numbers 8:12, “Then the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and you shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD to make atonement for the Levites.”

5]. It was used to describe the conferring of blessing on people.  

Gen 27:22, ‘So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”’

(IN SUMMARY. It was a means of identifying with God in His purposes. )

LAYING ON OF HANDS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

1]. It was used to impart the gift and gifts of the Holy Spirit.  

  • Acts 8:17, “Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”
  • Acts 19:6, “And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.”
  • 1Tim 4:14, “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.”
  • 2 Tim 1:6, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

2]. It was used to commission or ordain.  

  • See above and 
  • Acts 6:6, “These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.”
  • Acts 13:2-3,  “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3  Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.”
  • 1 Timothy 5:22, “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.”

3]. It was used to impart blessing. 

  • Matt. 19:13-15, “Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14  but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
  • Revelation 1:17, ‘When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.”’

4]. It was used to impart healing and for expected healing

  • Matt. 9:18, ‘While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”’
  • Mark 6:5, “And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.”
  • Mark 7:32, “And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.”
  • Mark 8:23-25, “And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 4  And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”
  • Luke 4:40, “Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.”
  • Luke 13:12-13, ‘And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12  When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13  And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.’
  • Mark 16:18, “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.”
  • Acts 9:11-12, “And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.”
  • Acts 28:8, “It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. “

(IN SUMMARY. Again, it was a means of identifying with God in His purposes).

4.        THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IDENTIFICATION AND IMPARTATION.

Identification.  We identify with God in His desire to bring blessing. We see that in Jesus’ ministry as He laid His hands on children to bless them and on sick people to heal them

We also identify with people in their need. It is not just symbolic when people reach out to touch someone in need. An appropriate compassionate human touch often brings a great deal of comfort to those who are hurting. Those of us who have responded positively to the command in James 5 to lay hands on and pray for the sick are often amazed at the healing that follows. As I wrote in a previous article on this site, healing may be instantaneous, come progressively or come after some delay. It may come in a different way to what we might expect.  

Ultimately God Himself is the healer and He heals in His way, in His time and through whom He wishes. Our part is to identify with His desire to bring blessing and healing to His people and to make ourselves available to be used by Him in the way He wishes.

Impartation.  As I mentioned above, our responsibility is simply to identify with people in their need, and to ask God to use us as His instruments through whom His blessing and healing can be imparted.  This means that God alone gets the glory. In Acts 4:29-30, it’s the hand of the Lord that brings blessing and healing, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30  while YOU stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”He alone heals.

We need to be humble enough to recognise and act on the difference!

It is always our responsibility and privilege to identify with people in their need and to identify with God’s purpose in wanting to bless and heal them.

But it is God who imparts His blessing and healing. It is not our responsibility to do so. But the great privilege is ours when He chooses to use us as His instruments to impart the blessing or healing through prayer with the laying of hands on those who have requested us to pray for them. He alone gets the glory and praise for what He does!

Blog No.438 posted on Wednesday 19 October 2022.

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Healing, Holy Spirit, Judgement, Justification, Mental Health, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

437. GETTING THE RIGHT FOCUS TO OBTAIN WHOLENESS IN LIFE. [Based on 2 Corinthians chapters 3 and 4.] Core Teaching Stage 2 Topic 3

Posted on October 18, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

Humans need to get the right focus as they live in this world. Otherwise they miss out on the blessings the Creator God has in store for them.

  • Jesus warned that we must seek first His kingdom and our needs will then be supplied by Him. Luke 12:31 “Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
  • St Paul wrote that we must set our minds on things above,  Colossians 3:2  “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

It is so easy to get a wrong focus in life so that we are concentrating on the wrong things. Let’s look then to see what should be our right focus in life. 

1.        OUR FOCUS HAS TO BE OUTWARD ON GOD, NOT INWARD ON OURSELVES 

We may reflect on why we feel as we do, “In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.” Psalm 4:4. It is good to search our hearts to examine our motives and desires. But prolonged introspection is unhealthy for we often fail to understand our thoughts or our actions and we can begin to obsess on the negatives in our lives. It is much better to invite the Knowing and Searching God to examine us and to show us how He sees us, Psalm 139:23-24. We need to focus on Him and not on ourselves. [More on Psalm 139 in blogs 139-146].

1.1.    Only God Knows What We Are Really Like Within. We Don’t Really Know Ourselves

God knows us better than we can ever know ourselves and better than anyone else could know us. He tells us in His word that He searches the hearts of humans, and that is why He knows everything about everyone.

  • (Psalm 7:9)  “Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!”

He tests every heart and mind. No one is excluded, not even those who don’t believe He exists!

  • (Psalm 139:1-6)  “O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3  You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4  Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. There is nothing about us that God does not know. He knows our actions, our thoughts and even the unspoken words we are trying to formulate in our minds.
  • (1 Chronicles 28:9)  “… And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. ..” King David charged his son Solomon reminding him that God searches and understands every plan being thought of and every thought in the minds of people.
  • (Prov 20:27)  “The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.” Our inward spirit enables believers to examine our innermost being but as fallen creatures it cannot be relied upon as being infallible. It needs the light of Christ to lighten our inner spirit to get real understanding. As John wrote in his prologue in John 1:9  “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
  • (Jeremiah 17:10) “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
  • (Romans 8:27 )”And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
  • (Revelation 2:23.) ”I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.”
  • 1Corinthians 2:10  “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.” God has revealed His mind and purpose to His people by His Spirit through His word and actions.

When God searches us He doesn’t get it wrong. He understands our thoughts, our motives and our plans in a way that no human ever could. 

1.2.    He Can Show Us What He Sees, If We Invite Him To Examine Us. 

David wanted to have a deeper walk with God. He invited God to show him the problem areas in his life.  

  • (Psalm 26:2)  “Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.” David used 3 expressions here denoting his desire for God to be  at work in his life. ”Test” is from [dokimázō; δοκιμάζω] which means a thorough search, seeking to prove and then approve after searching. “Try” is from [peirazō; πειράζω] which means to test or try out. “Examine” is from  [puroo; πυρόω] which can have the meaning of being purged by fire. David is wide open to allow God to search him so that he remains in the will of God.
  • (Psalm 139:23-4)  “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious  thoughts.” See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. “Search” is from the Hebrew [chaqar]. The root meaning is to penetrate; hence to examine very closely. He gets it right when He examines us! In the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint [LXX] the word is  [dokimázō; δοκιμάζω] which we saw above means a thorough search, seeking to prove, and then approve after searching. King David was praying that God would search him thoroughly and reveal to him what changes he would have to make to be  in the will of God for him.

2.        FOCUSSING ON THE LORD IS LIFE CHANGING FOR US. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18. 

2 Corinthians 3:16-18, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Focussing on the Lord was life-changing for St Paul. It will be for us . As we focus on Him in adoration and praise and in contemplation of His Person and Work, God does something within us. He brings about an inner transformation and renewal.

2.1.    We behold His glory, and thus we reflect Him. 18  “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord.“ We begin to reflect that which we focus on. “Beholding” is from katoptrizo. [Katoptron is a mirror.]”  Behold and reflect are both correct translations of the verb. We behold the glory of the Lord and we reflect that glory in our own lives. [The picture here may be likened to a group of people sitting around a log fire in the evening.  As they keep on beholding the flames their faces reflect the light. When the fire dies down, so does the brightness of the reflection on their faces. Whenever a new log is added to the fire, the flames turn brighter and so does the reflection on the faces of those gazing at the fire. As we gaze at His glory, we are changed from one degree of glory to another. ]

We “behold” the glory of the Lord when we set our minds to consider Him, His character, His words and His deeds so that we come to a much deeper appreciation of Him. The more we do so, the more we begin to reflect or exhibit the truth we are focussing on, on Him.  That is why St Paul urged his readers in Philippi to keep on reflecting on the following things, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” [Think about] here is from [logizomai; λογίζομαι] and it can mean to reckon, to consider, to dwell on, to reason. It means making a concerted effort to keep on reflecting on these qualities so that one adopts them as one’s own.

To see ourselves as God sees us, as one with Christ, brings victory

Galatians 2:19  “For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20  “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”Paul’s victory in life came as he considered himself as having died with Christ and having come alive in Him. He saw that Christ was now living His life in and through hm as Paul lived by faith in Christ.

Romans 6:11, “Consider (reckon) yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Jesus Christ.” Paul was encouraging his readers to recognise that they had died with Christ in His death and come to new life by being raised with Him. So now they were to present all they were to God,  “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Romans 6:13.

Romans 13:14,  “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about (pronoia; πρόνοια)= forethought=  make provision) how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Paul wrote in Galatians 3:27  “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” That meant that Christ had enveloped believers with His presence, but now they needed to deliberately clothe themselves with Him so that when people saw believers they could recognise Christ in them. 

It also meant that their minds should be focussed on Him and they should  not begin to think on how they could give in to the desires of their fallen nature [the flesh].

2.2.    We are being transformed.   

18  “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

A metamorphosis was taking place. The word for “transformed “is [metamorphoō; μεταμορφόω] meaning to change form or to be transfigured as Jesus was before the disciples on the mountain [Mathew 17:2 and Mark 9:2]. There was a change taking place in believers. They were changing, as Paul added, into the image of Christ,  becoming more like Him. “Image” is from [eikōn; εἰκών] which can be translated as “likeness.”]

Paul later in his letter commanded the believers in Rome to “be  transformed by the renewing of your mind. …”  Romans 12:2 rather than be conformed to this world. There was a part they could play in this transformation and that was by allowing their minds to be renewed by God rather than letting their thinking be conformed to the world. 

2.3.    Into His likeness. His likeness, once defaced,  but now being regained. 

The Bible describes the creation of humans in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created  him.” However we read of the fall of humankind in Genesis 3 where the human race was destined to have that image of God defaced though not entirely obliterated.  

Paul wrote that those whom God foreknew would have faith in Jesus were “also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29. God’s purpose for all His children is to transform them all into the likeness of Christ. 

Paul also wrote in Colossians 3:10  that believers “ have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”  They have a new self which is undergoing transformation by being renewed in knowledge. That renewal will lead to a greater conformity to the image of God. That which was lost at the Fall of humankind is being restored through the transforming work of God in Christian believers.

2.4.    From one degree of glory to another.  Sanctification. 

This transformation into the image of God is an on-going process in believers towards wholeness, by enabling them to submit to the will of God for them, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2. The renewed minds of believers enables them to recognise the will of God as they seek to find and obey it. They then learn to approve of God’s will and discover in practice that it truly is “good and acceptable and perfect.”

2.5.    This inner transformation comes from the Lord, the Spirit. 

This transformation into the image of God is not just an ideal that believers must aim at as a means of winning God’s favour. Rather it is the will of God for every believer to try to achieve. And they can only do so with His help, “For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” What then is our part as believers in our transformation into God’s image? We note the following.

  • We do the beholding at the Lord. That means getting our minds to focus on Him as we read His word, as we pray and praise and as we share in fellowship with other believers. He is to be the object of our adoration and praise.

As we do that, God is able to work through our openness by His Spirit, to do the transforming within us. He as the Holy Spirit can make us more holy, more set apart from the things of the world to be available to Him to do His will for us.

  • It is being open to the grace of God and receiving His grace in our lives. Paul wrote that we are saved by grace, Ephesians 2:8. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Not only is salvation a gift to us by the grace of God, but His grace continues to be poured out on us as we seek to live for Him. Paul discovered that as he faced a difficult time in his life. He pleaded with God on 3 occasions for Him to remove a difficulty in his life. God’s answer was what gave him strength, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”In his weakness God gave him the strength he needed to cope.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10. Difficulties may not always be taken away but the Lord has promised that His grace will be sufficient to enable us to cope. Admitting one’s human weakness before God allows Him to grace us with His strength. 

Grace means God’s provision to enable us to live in this world as He wants us to. But it does mean cooperating with Him as He works inwardly in us. That is what St Paul wrote in Philippians 2:12-13, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” We note of course that we are to “work out” our salvation, not “work for” it. Salvation, we have seen is a gift of God’s grace. It is God who is working in us, and His work achieves two things in us. He gives us both the willingness and the ability to please Him. The desire to do God’s will and being given the ability to do so, speak of the amazing grace of God in our lives as He transforms us into His image and into the likeness of Christ.

A Principle:  We are to work OUT in our lives, what He is working IN us by His Spirit.  Philippians 2:12-13. 

Blog No.437 posted on Tuesday 18 October 2022

Posted in BIBLE PASSAGE OUTLINES, Bible verses. Comments, Creation, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Forgiveness, Glorification, Healing, Holy Spirit, Mental Health, New Covenant, Prayer, Salvation, Sanctification, spiritual warfare, Temptations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

436. Core 2 Topic 2 THE FREEDOM THAT COMES FROM  FORGIVENESS. [A Guide On How To Really Forgive Another Person.] 

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Jim Holbeck

Unfortunately many people in our world today are in bondage and are unable to live with freedom to be the people God wants them to be  [and which they would long to be if they knew it would be possible and knew how they might be able to achieve it!] This article is about forgiveness and the freedom that comes when we REALLY forgive those who hurt us.  

We see a contrast in a parable Jesus told between what could have been and what actually happened. It is the story of the Unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:27. He could have lived in the freedom of being forgiven but chose not to forgive and finished up in bondage. We saw in the parable that the three main elements of true forgiveness are namely, the decision to show mercy, cancelling all the debt owed and letting the one in debt go free. Because he chose not to show mercy, refused to cancel all the debt and had the debtor imprisoned,  he himself was imprisoned, still owing all the debt of which he could have been forgiven. 

This article is an outline for how we as individuals can learn to forgive and live in the freedom of knowing that we have been forgiven and have now become forgiving in our attitude to all people. 

As we will see below, we need to forgive others, as God does, when people repent and ask Him for forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32  “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” We have seen in previous articles that the word used here for “forgive” is {charizomai; χαρίζομαι} from [charis; χάρις] meaning grace. It is to bestow grace, giving someone something they could never earn or deserve. That is what true forgiveness really is. Granting someone complete pardon for whatever harm they have caused us. That’s how God has acted towards us. That’s how we are to behave towards others. Difficult, but by no means impossible.

A].  GOD’S FORGIVENESS OF US.   APPROPRIATING OUR FORGIVENESS

What God says about our sin. We need to be forgiven by God.  We are all sinners in God’s sight. He has told us so in His word.

Romans 3:23. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That means every person ever born [except for Christ]. The word for “sinned “ [hamartanō; ἁμαρτάνω]  means missing the mark, failing to be  perfect. No one has ever been  perfect.

1 John 1:7-10. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Deception is the failure to be real or to accept reality. Thinking we are not sinners needing forgiveness is in the heights of self-deception. 

2 Peter 3:9,  “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Those who fail to repent of their sins will never receive forgiveness from God nor will they ever be able to know the release that comes from forgiving others.

What God says about our forgiveness. 

Hebrews 9:22. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. We read that God’s purpose in the shedding of the blood of His Son was to provide forgiveness of sins to all those who truly repented and trusted in His death for them.

1 Jn 5:11-13, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” We “have” the Son when we personally come to receive Him as our Saviour and Lord or in other words, believe in His name. In receiving Him into our lives, we receive in Him, eternal life.

Ephesians 1:7, ”In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” When people trust in Jesus Christ for salvation they are seen to be  “in Christ.”  Once they were in the world  but now as believers they are “in Christ” through their faith union with Him. They belong to Him and all that He has for them, are theirs in Him, “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. “ Romans 8:17. In Him they have redemption through the shedding of His blood on the cross. That redemption includes forgiveness of all sin and the gift of eternal life. So forgiveness is a present possession for believers. That includes forgiveness for all past, present and future sin, for the death of Jesus paid the price for all the sin of all humankind.

B].  GOD WANTS US TO KNOW HOW FORGIVEN  WE ARE IN CHRIST

Having experienced the freedom of God’s forgiveness, we can be free to forgive others. What God says about our complete forgiveness. 

Psalm 32:1-2, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2  Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit .”It is a great blessing to know that God has forgiven our sins and no longer holds them against us. He has covered them over so that they no longer appear before Him. [That by the way is the meaning “of the word atonement. “ It is the “covering” of sin by God Himself.] It is interesting that the writer users 4 different words to describe sin, namely transgression, sin and iniquity and deceit. 

Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” King David recognised the depth and extent of God’s forgiveness. He removes our sins to the extremities of the world, so that they are no longer anywhere near us. God takes them a long way away from us. To infinity!

Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.“ The stain of sin is gone. Many people have stated that they felt stained by their sin, perhaps marked out for punishment. But as they repented and asked for God’s forgiveness, they felt that the stain had disappeared. They felt that they no longer bore the stain of sin and all thoughts of punishment had disappeared.

Isaiah 38:17  “Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.”In human terms we cannot see what is behind our backs. That was how God motivated Isaiah to write this description of forgiveness. God no longer has unconfessed sin before Him. When people are forgiven by God He no longer sees their sins before Him. 

Isaiah 43:25  “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” There are two figures of speech in this verse. One is that He blots out or obliterates those sins so they no longer exist. The other has to do with God’s memory. Though He can never forget anything [being all-knowing, omniscient] He promises not to bring back into His memory the sins we have confessed to Him and which He has forgiven. 

Isaiah 44:22  I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. “Blotted out” means removing. God has blotted out or removed our sins from us even as He removes mist or clouds in His  world. 

Isaiah 55:7  “let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” As the writer of Psalm 130:7  put it, “O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.”

Forgiveness is not wrought from an unwilling God. Rather He delights to forgive those who turn to Him. 

Jeremiah 33:8, “I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.” Cleansing, when one feels dirty is a wonderful experience. It is also wonderful in the spiritual sphere when someone confesses their sin to God and feels as though all the dirt and defilement of their sin has been washed away. The guilt they once felt has gone. 

Micah 7:18,19, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19  He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

We note a number of terms associated with forgiveness in these two verses. God pardons iniquity. He passes over transgressions. He is no longer angry at the sin of the sinner. He destroys our sins by trampling them under His feet. He casts them into the depths of the sea never to be seen again. They are all wonderful word pictures that show the completeness of God’s forgiveness towards repentant sinners.

As we sum up the truths of all these verses we recognise that when God forgives, He does so, absolutely and completely, holding nothing against us of the sins we have confessed to Him.

If we are to forgive those who hurt or damaged us in any way then we have to forgive them as God in Christ forgave us, Ephesians 4:32. That is, absolutely and completely, holding nothing against them of the sins they committed against us. 

WE NOW COME TO THE PRACTICAL PART OF FORGIVENESS. 

How can we forgive those people absolutely and completely, holding nothing against them of the sins they committed against us? 

It may sound like an impossible task. 

But those who have followed the truths in the steps below have been transformed by God through the experience, and have entered into a degree of freedom and victory in their Christian lives, they never thought possible.

I Believe That If You Were To Follow These Steps, Your Lives Also Would Be Transformed!

C].  FORGIVING OTHERS. THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED.  “I know I should. I’ve decided I will.  How do I go about it?”

Forgiveness is not a feeling, though there are very deep emotional factors involved in forgiving other people. It is a decision we decide to make which may come from, or lead to varying degrees of feelings. 

Some people are at the stage of knowing that they should forgive, not only because  they know God wants then to do so but because they are held captive emotionally and spiritually by their bitterness and unforgiveness. They long to be  free.

Others have progressed from there and have decided to forgive all the people involved of all their sins against them. But how does one go about forgiving in this way.

HOW TO FORGIVE EVERYONE OF EVERYTHING. [Here are some steps to follow.]

1].      RECOGNISE THEIR GUILT – THEIR SIN AGAINST US. FACE THE FACTS! 

1.1. Do not excuse them.  Call sin, “sin”.  Sin is an offence against us, but also against God.  The prodigal son was right in seeing this! Luke 15:21 “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’” God wants to undo the damage sin has caused us.

1.2. Why people seem to excuse the person who sinned against them.  (You can’t forgive them if you don’t see them as guilty.) I remember counselling a young woman who had just shared with me that her own father had raped her when she was 15 years old. I shared that she needed to forgive her father for his sin against her to receive more healing from the Lord. Her response surprised me. She said, “I know why he did it. My mother was never affectionate nor loving towards him or me. So he turned his affections towards me!” I told her that what he had done was wrong, that he had indeed sinned against her and now she could forgive him of his sin. [The act of sin is always wrong, no matter what is the motivation behind the act.] I was glad when she recognised this truth and tearfully forgave her father. She later left my office a totally changed woman. Sin is always sin no matter how hard we try to rationalise wrong behaviour.

2].      DECIDE TO FORGIVE THE PERSON OF EVERYTHING AND TO RELEASE THE SIN.

2.1.     Not just the big things, but the little things as well. (Nothing is too big or small to cause hurt to us). Someone has said that there are no small sins because there is no small God to sin against. All sin is an affront to the majesty of God and needs to be repented of. Every sin has consequences but it seems humanly speaking that some sins have more damaging consequences than others. However every sin causes hurt and damage. 

2.2.     To forgive does not necessarily mean to forget what happened. 

Often people will say, ”I can’t forgive that person because I will never forget what he did to me!” But remember that God cannot forget anything because he is all-knowing, omniscient. But He chooses not to remember our sins when we confess them to Him. He forgives, even though He cannot forget! He tells us He will not remember our sins any more.

2.3.     To “not remember” means to try to not consciously bring the memory of their sin back against them again. As we forgive those who hurt us we can choose to let go their sins against us and can ask God to help us to break the pattern of our thoughts if they come back into our memory. We can choose not to remember and dwell upon sins committed against us. 

2.4.     God can heal the memories (ie., take away the pain and the associated feelings.) There is a danger in what is called the “healing of the memories.” There are some who engage in this ministry who go beyond what God has written in His word.  They may say to the person being prayed for, “ I want you to imagine Jesus being back with you in that sad situation. But then they may add something like,” “Can you see Him cleaning up the room around you so that it looks sparkling clean etc.” They may add other details which they try to get the person to imagine happening. This can become a form of mind-control if one is not careful.  

This is different to praying with people and allowing them time to let the Lord reveal to them anything He wants them to know. 

One woman I was praying with, in the quietness got a picture of Jesus entering a room where difficult things had taken place and cleaning and repainting the room in her favourite colour. I let her tell me what she was seeing and it was very healing for her. It is Jesus who needs to reveal to the person being counselled any pictures He wants to plant in their minds and not a counsellor getting them to imagine things that may not be real. 

Very often many of the memories remain but the Lord has healed those memories so that there is no longer any pain associated with them whenever they resurface in the person’s memory. A friend who had learned to forgive everyone, shared with me how she had always crumpled emotionally whenever she had any contact with her ex-husband. She told me that she had been to a recent wedding where her ex-husband was also in attendance. She found she could face him and even converse with him with no emotional turmoil at all. She knew the Lord had heard her prayers for healing and had answered her.

2.5.     He can set us free of bondage to those people, or to the places where hurt occurred. I know of people who travelled a great deal in the city but would bypass a certain suburb where they had been abused as children. When they had forgiven the people involved they found not only could they drive through that suburb but could also pull up outside the house where the abuse took place and thank God for His healing of their previously damaged emotions.

3].      VERBALISE TO GOD, OUR FORGIVENESS TOWARDS THEM.

3.1.     There is power in words, as we affirm our forgiveness of the person before God.The writer of Proverbs wrote in 18:21  “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Our words can build us up or they can destroy us. I mentioned in a recent blog article that a woman who had been suffering from severe shaking of her hands, the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, went home from a Seminar I taught on forgiveness and asked God whom she needed to forgive. She realised that it was her own mother who had hurt her deeply. She asked the Lord to forgive her for holding resentment against her mother and then said, “Mother I forgive you, in Jesus’ name!” The shaking stopped immediately and never occurred again! There is great power in true affirmations!

3.2.     We need to keep affirming that forgiveness, when the person or the situation hasn’t changed. It may be that God has worked in our hearts to want to forgive everyone who hurt us of everything. But we are still faced with people who have never said “Sorry!” to us or shown any sort of softening towards us. How can you forgive someone who doesn’t want, or see the need for our forgiveness? The answer is to keep on affirming to ourselves that we have forgiven them. For example, we can affirm before the Lord, “Thank You Lord that You gave me the grace to be  able to forgive that person. I keep forgiving them and pray that You would touch their hearts to know You and to know Your love for them.” In that way you are not only affirming your own forgiveness of them but are also praying a positive blessing on them. 

4].      ASK GOD TO FORGIVE THEM AND TO BLESS THEM.

As I just mentioned above, as we forgive people, it is helpful to pray a blessing on them as well. Does it mean that because we asked God to forgive them that they are now forgiven by God? Of course not. Forgiveness for any individual comes only when they personally repent and ask God to forgive them. 

What does it mean to bless them? Praying that God would touch their hearts and bring them to Himself is praying a blessing on them. The best blessing they can receive from the Lord is to be forgiven by Him and be born again into His kingdom. 

Being willing to pray a blessing on those who hurt us is a sign that we have really forgiven them. If someone refuses to be willing to pray a blessing on those who previously hurt them after forgiving them, then they need to be encouraged to do so.  

  • Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” Luke 6:28. 
  • St Paul echoed almost the same words, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” Romans 12:14.  And in 1 Corinthians 4:12 he wrote, “… When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure.”  
  • Peter also stressed the need to be positive in our attitude to those who sin against us, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” 1 Peter 3:9. 

5].      ASK GOD TO FORGIVE ME OF ANY PART I PLAYED IN CONTRIBUTING TO THE SIN OF OTHERS AGAINST US.

It is part of our human nature to blame others when things go wrong in our lives. They are at fault, not us! They sinned against us! However we don’t always get it right when we are attributing blame. It may have been that something we said or did [or didn’t do] caused some hurt and pain to the other person and so they are negative in their attitudes against us. We may be totally oblivious to the fact that we caused them pain and that there is a reason for their negative attitude to us or their rejection of us. 

So it can be part of our prayer of openness to God [based on Psalm 139 verses 23-24] to allow Him to show us anything from the past that may have caused offence to other people. If He shows us that we were unwise or unloving in our words or behaviour, then we can recognise that as sin and confess it to God. At the same time we need to be careful not to accept any thoughts of false guilt that the devil as the accuser may have  placed in our minds. 

True guilt when recognised has to be  repented of and God’s forgiveness sought.

False guilt when recognised is to be thoroughly rejected and God’s protection of our minds sought.   

6].      ASK GOD TO HEAL ME OF THE DAMAGE DONE TO ME.

All sin has an effect, whether it’s the sin we commit or the sins committed against us.  All sin leads to hurt and damage. Everyone in this world is damaged in some way or other. And we need to remember that the damage from the sin does not always equate with the seeming sinfulness of the sin omitted. Some simple statement by one person might be received by another person as a severe criticism of them. 

In the Psalm of Asaph he tells us of the damage that holding bitterness does to us. We cease to be rational human beings and become like irrational animals,  Psalm 73:21-22, “When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, 22  I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.” No wonder St Paul wrote, “Get rid of bitterness!” Ephesians 4:31.

St Paul also wrote about the need to be careful in our speech, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:29-32. Healthy speech builds up, is always appropriate and imparts grace to those who hear it. Unhealthy speech damages people and healing is needed through forgiveness. 

Only God knows the depths of the damage that the sin of other people has done to us and that is why it is so helpful to pray the prayer of openness to God from Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. 24 Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” [The Living Bible]. God may be grieved because of sins or attitudes He sees within us, but He is also saddened when He sees barriers to His love and grace being poured out on us because of some unresolved hurt from the past.

7].      AFFIRM TO MYSELF BEFORE GOD (AND TO OTHERS WHERE APPROPRIATE)  THAT I HAVE FORGIVEN THOSE WHO HARMED ME. 

Very often our friends who know about some of our difficulties in the past may bring up something negative about a particular person who caused us hurt and harm. They do it to show that they are aware of what we have been through and to remind us that they are on our side. But it is all too easy to adopt a victim mentality and to be negative about those people who hurt us.  However once we have really forgiven them, we can no longer do that. What we need to do, is to say that we have forgiven them and are praying for their welfare. So we are positively affirming our forgiveness of them and setting an example of how to forgive. And even how to bless them by praying for their welfare.

The more we get into the habit of affirming our forgiveness of people, the easier it is to continue in this positive way. 

8].      AFFIRM THAT I AM BEING HEALED IN ANSWER TO PRAYER. 

We believe that the Lord wants to heal His people so that they can fulfil His purpose for them. When we pray for healing, we are meant to believe that God answers prayer and will bring His healing in His way and in His time. So we need to pray with watchfulness and thanksgiving to see how He may be bringing His healing and with thanksgiving that He has heard our prayer and is answering. 

 Some folk have found it helpful after praying for healing to add something like, “Lord, thank You for hearing my prayer and I thank You now for the healing that is coming in Your way and in Your time. Give me the eyes to  recognise Your answer that I might the more glorify You for Your goodness and grace.” Then we praise God for every increment of healing we recognise.  

9].      PRAY, “LORD, WHAT SHALL I DO NOW?”

When we realise that God has been at work in us by His Spirit enabling us to forgive all those who hurt us, we need to consider what we are to do with our healing. There are as number of options, but we need the Lord’s guidance to choose the appropriate ones. For example, the Lord has healed us of our unforgiveness and bitterness towards a person who hurt us deeply and we feel we should reach out to them to see if we can re-establish some relationship. 

The questions we need to ask ourselves are these? Should I make contact with them?  If the answer appears to be Yes, then what sort of contact should I make with them? Phone? Text? eMail? Visit them at their home? What sort of attitude should  I have as I approach them? One friend asked me for advice. She and her sister had not had contact with each other for over 20 years even though they lived on the opposite sides of the same city. My friend had learned to forgive everyone including her sister who had been quite nasty to her many years before. She felt she should try to reach out to her sister but wasn’t sure how. It came to Good Friday, the celebration of the day a sinful world was reconciled to God by the death of Jesus. Could it be a time when she and her sister were reconciled? She had thought out her approach as she contacted her by phone. She was going to say, ‘Hi Sis! I thought I would ring you today because I’m sad we are not friends. If there is anything I have done to hurt you, please forgive me. I would love us to be  friends again.” To her surprise her sister said, “Oh Sis, I’m the one who should be asking you to forgive me. I was really mean to you all those years ago. I need your forgiveness. I’d love to be  friends again. Can I come over to your place? I can be there in less than an hour!” On that Good Friday a wonderful reconciliation took place as two sisters embraced and vowed to be best friends again. My friend, the first sister, was absolutely stoked that what seemed an impossible situation had been turned around by the Lord as she had learned how to forgive. 

“IT ONLY TAKES ONE TO DANCE, BUT TWO TO TANGO!”

At the end of these seminars on Forgiveness I would put on the projector screen this cryptic saying, “It only takes one to dance, but two to tango!” As I let those words sink in, eventually someone would say, “I think i’ve got it. It only takes one person to forgive for them to dance in the freedom of their forgiveness. But it takes two people to bring about a reconciliation!”

That was the meaning. When one person forgives all those who hurt them, they can dance in the freedom of being forgiven by God and in becoming forgiving. They don’t have to wait for the other person to forgive them or to ask for forgiveness. They are free to dance in the freedom God gives to those who forgive in the same way God forgives, that is, absolutely and completely, holding nothing against those who hurt them! Hopefully there may be a reconciliation but not always, as sometimes the other person doesn’t respond to an invitation to be reconciled.

“Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32. [The Message translation].

Blog No.436 the Freedom of Forgiveness. [How to Really Forgive Another Person!]. Posted on Wednesday 12 October 2022

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