"....He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick." (Luke 9:2)
We tend to do neither today. Why?
Let's face it: "the Kingdom of God," just does not "sell." It's certainly not "seeker friendly," nor does it make me the center of things; the King is. What the King says, goes. We have not vote in what He does. Who today wants to hear of a king and some kingdom?!? Who wants the thought that Jesus Christ is King, and we His subjects? Who does not want a "say in the matter?" And perhaps even greater than the aforementioned, "The Kingdom of God," is far beyond the control of ANYONE, any apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor/teacher, bishop, church board, or "generals of intercession," period.
Then there is the, "....heal the sick." It is frankly embarrassing to pray for someone's healing, only to see that they are not healed. We can mumbo-jumbo any theology all we want. The truth is that even with the great "faith-healers" of the Twentieth Century, most in their meetings were not healed. I was in meetings where most of those seeking healing left without anything "happening." I confess that there have been too many times that I have not prayed for people because I didn't expect anything to happen-- horrendous.
So, now what do we do? Well, we do what our Lord Jesus commands and sends us to do. The old cliche could apply here: "Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do or die." I don't preach much any more; but that's no excuse. I am now writing this for, well, I don't know how many. I want to, however, as one translation says, "....proclaim the Kingdom of God." I want to, "heal the sick." Notice that Jesus does not say, "Pray for the sick," rather, "heal the sick", but that's another discussion. Please send me a prayer request. I will pray for you, no matter what the request, no matter if I "look good" or not. Let's get over this degeneration (forgive me if "degeneration" seems a little too harsh) of "the Faith." Jesus is King of, "the Kingdom of God." I am Jesus', "bond-slave." And that, my friend, is Bible.
Father, in Jesus' Name, how we do "pick and choose" what we want to "proclaim" and do. Holy Spirit, I need you. Amen.
*********************
Fall 2017 Mission: Berlin/Wittenberge, October 28-Novenmber 15
We tend to do neither today. Why?
Let's face it: "the Kingdom of God," just does not "sell." It's certainly not "seeker friendly," nor does it make me the center of things; the King is. What the King says, goes. We have not vote in what He does. Who today wants to hear of a king and some kingdom?!? Who wants the thought that Jesus Christ is King, and we His subjects? Who does not want a "say in the matter?" And perhaps even greater than the aforementioned, "The Kingdom of God," is far beyond the control of ANYONE, any apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor/teacher, bishop, church board, or "generals of intercession," period.
Then there is the, "....heal the sick." It is frankly embarrassing to pray for someone's healing, only to see that they are not healed. We can mumbo-jumbo any theology all we want. The truth is that even with the great "faith-healers" of the Twentieth Century, most in their meetings were not healed. I was in meetings where most of those seeking healing left without anything "happening." I confess that there have been too many times that I have not prayed for people because I didn't expect anything to happen-- horrendous.
So, now what do we do? Well, we do what our Lord Jesus commands and sends us to do. The old cliche could apply here: "Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do or die." I don't preach much any more; but that's no excuse. I am now writing this for, well, I don't know how many. I want to, however, as one translation says, "....proclaim the Kingdom of God." I want to, "heal the sick." Notice that Jesus does not say, "Pray for the sick," rather, "heal the sick", but that's another discussion. Please send me a prayer request. I will pray for you, no matter what the request, no matter if I "look good" or not. Let's get over this degeneration (forgive me if "degeneration" seems a little too harsh) of "the Faith." Jesus is King of, "the Kingdom of God." I am Jesus', "bond-slave." And that, my friend, is Bible.
Father, in Jesus' Name, how we do "pick and choose" what we want to "proclaim" and do. Holy Spirit, I need you. Amen.
*********************
Fall 2017 Mission: Berlin/Wittenberge, October 28-Novenmber 15
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
