Being Made Rich Through Generosity

In this article I address old covenant tithing vs new covenant generosity and how the church should handle offerings.

Should You Tithe?

No, you shouldn’t, you should be generous though. You are under no obligation to give any percentage of your income as a qualification for atonement, favor or blessing under the New Covenant.

There is no penalty or curse for not giving. You’re free!! Plain and simple. There is no law to keep, but you do have a new heart that is designed for generosity. In fact, generosity from this new heart tunes the rest of your being to hear and follow God into blessing and long life. Generosity produces a harvest that affords you to be a blessing any time you want to.

2 Corinthians 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed

God loves a grumpy giver too, he’d just rather you be happy about it. Happy giving reflects a heart that trust in God for provision instead of a heart that feels like it’s losing something by giving money away.

Should You Give?

Yes, generously! Why? To take care of widows, orphans and those in legitimate need. You should also give toward the work of ministry. You should do those things as you’ve purposed in your own heart rather than out of guilt or obligation. Check out Paul’s thoughts on church members giving to their local body.

1 Corinthians 16:1 Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church to give a fixed percentage of their income on a weekly basis. It should be used to support those preaching and teaching as well as for those in need in the church. Those collections should also be designated for missions to spread the Gospel.

By the way, this a very straight forward article, I’m highlighting Paul’s thoughts about money under the New Covenant. It’s up to you how you incorporate these facts into your personal financial life.

I know many of you don’t have a church you can call home in your community. We humbly invite you to be part of our online church body, we’ll do our best to stay as connected as possible, but you’ll have access to all the same resources as our local body.

Personal Finances

What is your relationship with money? How do you see it? What does it mean to you? How do you feel when you have more than enough money? How do you feel when you don’t have enough?

How you relate to and handle money can help you understand where you are in your heart toward God. Do you trust God as your provider, or money? Give some away and see how you feel about it, do you feel like you have less now, or do you feel happy you were able to give. “Both” is not an acceptable answer ;-)

Jesus promised that God would meet your needs. Paul promised that God wants to meet them according to his level of wealth. God wants to be your provider, that’s just a simple fact.

God is seeking to bless you to the degree that you have more than enough so you can be a blessing to the church and to other people, not necessarily in that order.

Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with good wine.

Tune Your Heart to God’s Voice

You can use money as a tool to tune your ear to his voice and your heart to his leading. He will always lead you into life and blessing.

So why do you not have more than enough right now? Maybe you have mishandled money. Maybe you don’t understand that provision is a spiritual issue. Maybe you’re stingy. Maybe you live in an area where it’s difficult to make a decent income. Maybe the cards are stacked against you some other way. All of those things are issues of the world’s system but God is bigger than all those things. God can make a way where there is no way. In fact he’s trying to so so right now, just go ahead and let him.

You don’t earn or qualify for provision and blessing because you give, but you do teach your heart a lesson. The lesson is that you don’t have to hold on to money to meet your needs. Blessing others and supporting the work of ministry is more important than holding on to money. A righteous man leaves an inheritance to his grandchildren, but both realities can exist simultaneously.

Releasing money as your source of provision doesn’t make God want to bless you more, it simply causes your mind to think about money like he thinks. Giving money away to bless others and support ministry is a process of repentance. When you give away your money you are teaching your physical and soulish being that you trust God more than money.

Proverbs 11:24 One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.

Every Believer Should Be Part Of A Church

I know, some of you cringe at statement. This is an idealistic statement but it’s something that we can work our way toward. I know it’s hard to find a good church, keep looking. These days being part of a church online is easier than ever. I do hope you have a group of believers to fellowship, worship, pray and do ministry with.

A healthy church where everyone is giving generously has plenty of money to accomplish the ministry assignment for that body. If everyone gave it would be able to take care of the needs of the members of that church. That body of believers could also support ministry outside of their body for missions or humanitarian work.

It would be wise for that church to still hold to principles like “you don’t work, you don’t eat” and “the hand of the diligent is made rich.” It would also be wise for this to be done in local churches rather than the whole church at large, otherwise you end up with another Vatican.

Paul’s Thoughts On Offerings

I’ll give Paul the final word on how Christians and churches should handle money. He’s writing to the Corinthian church about money and offerings. Paul uses the Macedonian church as an example, as well as the churches in Achaia.

Churches…by the way. The early church had local bodies that gathered regularly, took up offerings, paid their teachers/elders and did the work of the ministry. Some folks think that kind of organization wasn’t happening in the early church, but it was.

The Macedonian church took up a large offering for Paul and his co-laborers and he was asking the Corinthian church to do the same thing. This offering was primarily going to support the church in Jerusalem because they were in financial trouble and couldn’t support one another and the ministry was suffering. The Jerusalem church previously pooled their money and possessions but apparently that didn’t work long term, so Paul was collecting money to help them. There are several insights and lessons in these verses. What stands out to you?

2 Corinthians 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. 13 Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, 14 while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

When Christians are generous, setting aside a percentage of their income weekly, the collective body of Christ works better. There are personal benefits to generosity and there are collective benefits for the body of Christ. If the world could see Christian’s take care of each other, they’d want Jesus too.

The Church Is The Answer

If every Christian put a percentage of their income toward the more of ministry the church at large to solve world hunger, build more hospitals, provide healthcare for people, spread the Gospel to every single person on the planet and a host of other good things. I realize this is an idealistic thought but Jesus did pray that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Be generous!! For your own personal benefit, to glorify God, to help take care of others, to support ministry, to pay ministers, to provide buildings for the equipping of the saints…the list goes on and on.

You are more than welcome to give to Forward Church. We will use it responsibly, Biblically and fruitfully. I make no empty promises of return, I simply thank you for your investment into this ministry. We have lots of work to do and your help is appreciated. A one-time or recurring gift would be fabulous!

Wisdom and Discretion Will Watch Over You

You can trust your decisions and walk in confidence. You don’t have to second guess everything or stress yourself out if you’re walking in the will of God. God is not withholding wisdom and instruction from you, he freely gives them to all who will listen. What it does it take to have your ear tuned to his voice? What does it take for your heart to be receptive to his leading? Walking upright, with integrity, being a loyal and dependable person.

These character traits do not earn the favor of God, they create the right environment inwardly to hear God. God speaks in the frequency of purity, righteousness, uprightness and so on, you will hear him and follow him effortlessly when your inner world matches the frequency of his voice.

Discretion Will Watch Over You

Let’s take a walk through Proverbs 2 and explore this idea a bit more. I have paraphrased some of these passages from the ESV but the context holds true.

1-5 My son, IF you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, and IF you make your ear attentive to wisdom and IF you incline your heart to understanding and, IF you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, and IF you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, THEN you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

There’s a big “IF” here. The “IF” is not based on performance, it’s based on listening. The eyes and ears of your heart will see and listen based on their track record. He continues on and help us know how to incline our hearts and make our ear attentive to God. But first he affirms that God gives wisdom freely, he’s not withholding it.

6-9 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;

Now begins the instruction of how to receive wisdom from God; walk upright, in integrity and guard the path of justice. This insight is followed by a promise, God will watch over you as you go.

Wisdom is not earned through integrity or good character, but walking upright has the kind of effect on your mind and heart that tunes it to the way God speaks. For the person who follows God’s instructions and lives in a way that’s in harmony with his own heart, they will know his voice more clearly.

Wisdom is effortlessly received by a heart that walks in God’s commandments and instruction. Of course commandments do not earn us favor, righteousness or blessing, they are instruction for us to follow into life and blessing. New Covenant commandments only come with blessings or missed opportunities, not penalty and punishment.

10-11 for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,

When your ear is inclined to God’s ways and your heart is receptive to his knowledge, all kinds of good things happen, including being protected from perversion, lust and adultery as described in verses 12-19.

When you walk according to God’s design for humans, in integrity, uprightness and receptive to his knowledge and instruction…

20-22 you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

Following God’s Pattern for Life

You can never perform or behave your way into God’s blessings, but you can keep your heart open to him through upright living. Because your heart affects every of your life and because God speaks to you through your inner man, it’s important to keep it distraction free.

Walking in integrity, in up-righteousness and in righteousness tunes your ear to him. Because he gives wisdom freely and because he has good plans for you, you need to hear him clearly to walk into those benefits.

The good news is you hear him better than you think you do and you follow him without trying to all the time. When you heart is confident in him you will make the right decisions. When you know who you are in him, when his promises are your compass, when Christ’s finished work is your foundation, when his peace guards your heart, you can trust your decisions.

When you’ve taken the time to plant his word in your heart and you discipline yourself to live in the pattern of his ways, you have a discretion that will self-correct your path back to God’s voice.

Sow The Word

Here’s your homework, read a chapter of Proverbs every day. Listen for specific things that you can actually put into practice. Read it slowly and make sure your focus is on his character and wisdom rather than your performance. Sow the word and reap a harvest in due time. You need to plant the word today because you’re going to need it tomorrow.

Guard Against Thoughts That Plant Bad Seeds

Have you seen the images from the Face App that’s going around? This app makes you look old. You upload a photo of yourself and it gives you options to make yourself look old, and it looks incredibly realistic. I noticed that it was mostly people under 40 posting their “old photos” on social media, those of us over 40 didn’t seem to want to see what we looked like even older…LOL.

I didn’t care to see myself as an old person, not because of any superficial issue, but because of what’s going on in my life right now. I didn’t want to see myself that way because I didn’t want to have to fight off the thoughts that may come along with seeing myself that way.

Here’s the issue, my mom is fighting cancer right now. My dad passed from cancer back in 2014, and we have lost two dearly loved church members in the last year to cancer. I knew that if I saw myself looking old I would look like my dad, and I feared the kinds of emotions and thoughts that image might produce, especially given what I’m going through right now.

Fast forward a few days after I started seeing people post their “old photos.” I was at a friend’s warehouse, several folks from our church work there. I drop by on Friday sometimes to hang out and have lunch. They were trying to get me to do the Face App but I told them I didn’t want to. They had no idea why, I just said I didn’t want to see myself that way. They had all done it and were all having a good laugh over it.

One of the guys walked in the office and I knew he had an “old” photo of me. He showed it to one of the guys and they all had a good laugh, they told me I should just look at it because it was hilarious.

At the moment I wasn’t fully aware of what happened, I didn’t even realize it until later, but I made a split decision in my heart that the image would not affect my heart, so I looked at it. When I saw it I looked just like my dad but it wasn’t upsetting, it was funny.

I’m convinced that had I not made that split decision in my heart to not be affected by the photo, it could have planted a seed in my heart that would have started to grow into a mental battle. The battle would have been with the feelings and thoughts of contracting cancer. Given the power of our hearts, those emotions and thoughts may have eventually produced cancer.

I believe we all face these kinds of decisions all the time. We’re faced with situations that plant seeds in our hearts. How we respond to those seeds can be the difference between life and death. They’re certainly the difference between peace and stress.

As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

I am convinced of this truth. When we adopt a belief about ourselves, our entire being charts a course to make those beliefs a reality.. Our biology will begin to change and create the environment to manifest the fruit of our beliefs.

We must guard our hearts against lies, no matter how small. We must take great precaution to protect our minds and hearts against the things that can plant seeds of death in our hearts. AND we must be intentional to plant the kinds of seeds that will protect us and guard our hearts. We must plant seeds from God’s Word that resonate His truth throughout our entire being.

Psalm 91

Here’s one way to intentionally plant seeds, specifically seeds about God’s character and who we are in Him. Read through Psalm 91 and see if you believe that God will keep these promises for you. Read each verse and pause to see if it feels true to you. Say the specific promise out loud and see where your thoughts go.

Do your thoughts go to a time when you feel like God let you down? Do you have a clear sense of peace and no issues? Do you believe the promise but think God may sometimes not keep them? What do you feel and think after you read each promise?

Take some time to read through Psalm 91 as a prayer and meditation exercise to guard your heart against anything that contradicts these promises.

Psalm 91

1 Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.

2 Then you will say to the LORD, “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.”

3 The Lord will keep you safe from secret traps and deadly diseases.

4 He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure. His faithfulness is like a shield or a city wall.+

5 You won't need to worry about dangers at night or arrows during the day.

6 And you won't fear diseases that strike in the dark or sudden disaster at noon.

7 You will not be harmed, though thousands fall all around you.

8 And with your own eyes you will see the punishment of the wicked.

9 The LORD Most High is your fortress. Run to him for safety,

10 and no terrible disasters will strike you or your home.

11 God will command his angels to protect you wherever you go.

12 They will carry you in their arms, and you won't hurt your feet on the stones.

13 You will overpower the strongest lions and the most deadly snakes.

14 The Lord says, “If you love me and truly know who I am, I will rescue you and keep you safe.

15 When you are in trouble, call out to me. I will answer and be there to protect and honor you.

16 You will live a long life and see my saving power.”

Examine Yourself to Find Faith Not Sin

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Have you ever looked at your behavior and wondered if you went too far and lost your salvation? Have you ever abstained from communion in church because you sinned that week and you were afraid something bad might happen? Keep reading, I’m about to set you free.

Toxic Christianity encourages self-examination that keeps you bound by guilt and shame. Toxic self-examination is rooted in a legalistic mindset and predominantly comes from a misunderstanding of Paul’s admonishment of the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11. Because of this misunderstanding, millions of Christians have been deprived of the power of communion. Toxic self-examination has filtered its way into many believers lives.

I have some good news for you, you don’t have to examine yourself to find sin, I can promise you, you commit some kind of sin every day. Sin is defined as this, anything that is not of faith. I can assure you, every day, you do something that is not of faith. But remember, you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of God, ensuring our eternal life in him.

Does that make you think I’m saying sin is ok? No? Cool, we’re on the same page. Yes? Hang out a while, I’ll help you understand the sufficiency of the sacrifice of Christ.

For now, back to self-examination…

“Don’t take communion in an unworthy manner with unconfessed sin or you’ll go to hell”

Have you ever not taken communion because you committed a sin that week and you were afraid something bad might happen if you did take communion? Have you ever believed that you might go to hell for taking communion with sin in your life? Some folks call that “mortal sin.” The folks that use that term actually believe that your sin still separates you from God. If that’s true then we’re all separated from God most of the time, besides the fact that nothing can separate us from the love of God. God is love, soooo…sin doesn’t separate you from God.

Those are all horrendous heresies that place the focus on the believers works-righteousness rather than on the body of Christ and what he went through on our behalf.

Sin is never ok, you should avoid it at all cost, it brings death and hardens your heart, but because of Christ’s atoning work, it will never be the context through which God judges you.

Yep, that’s right, Jesus was already judged for your past, present and future sins. Does that make you want to sin? Does that make you think I’m saying sin is ok? Well, it’s time for you to repent believe the Gospel.

Let’s look at the passage that’s causing all the trouble…

1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.

What is the “unworthy manner” he’s talking about? Lucky for us Paul defined the unworthy manner earlier in his letter…

1 Corinthians 11:18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. 20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, 21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.

That is the very definition of partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. They are divided as a church, they are judging each other, they are judging themselves as better or worse than each other, some of them are eating all the food and getting drunk while others go hungry. They are not sharing a meal together as the body of Christ, making sure no one goes hungry. AND!! They are not making the whole thing about the Lord’s body (crucifixion). They’re supposed to be focusing on, remembering and celebrating all that the Lord went through in his crucifixion on their behalf.

That’s the unworthy manner!!

He’s not talking about individual sin in their lives, he’s talking about how they’re treating each other as a church. Remember, we’re supposed to walk in love toward one another, laying our lives down for each other, they’re not doing that.

To take the warning and apply it to each person’s individual sin is improper exegesis, you have to read that into the text, and all you theologians out there should know better.

After Paul corrects them on what communion is about, he again addresses the solution in context.

1 Corinthians 11:33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment.

That’s his solution, wait for each other, love one another, remember the Lord’s body. Notice that his solution isn’t to tell them to not take communion for fear of the Lord judging them. In fact, he tells them that the Lord doesn’t want to condemn them, they should judge themselves and make sure they’re doing it in remembrance of the Lord’s body.

He says that people who don’t understand the Lord’s body are weak, sick and might even die prematurely. The insinuation is this, if you do understand the Lord’s body, it can be health and long life for you. “With long life I will satisfy you” Paslm 91. It’s not the magic of the communion elements, it’s the heart of the believer and how he relates to the indwelling resurrection power of Christ.

If this is hard for you to grasp, watch the video above, I explain this slowly with great detail.

How do I properly judge and examine myself?

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

You examine yourself to see if you’re in faith toward Christ. The church at Corinth was not remembering the Lord’s body during their communion supper, they were mistreating one another, therefore mistreating the Lord’s body. God sees them one and the same. To properly regard and honor the Lord’s actual body and what he accomplished is to lovingly regard and honor our fellow believers, especially in the time of remembrance through the sharing of the Lord’s supper.

Examine yourself to see if you’re in faith!! Remember that Christ is in you!! That’s the only test there is to pass!!

If God judged you, you would be found guilty and condemned to the lake of fire, which is the second death. However, Christ became your sin and served your sentence of condemnation for you. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ. That is properly judging the Lord’s body and that is properly judging yourself. If you truly internalize that, to the point of empowerment, it will be long life for you. Understanding the Lord’s body means you understand that he took the penalty of sin for you, you are set free from the law of sin and death. Those who do not allow Christ to be that propitiation for them by faith stand condemned, but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Examine Yourself to See if You Understand the Lord’s Body in Your Real-Life Situations

I focused on communion in this article but toxic self-examination is something we do to ourselves all the time. Toxic Religion has taught us to be conscious of our sin and feel bad about it. I’m not saying you should feel good about your sins, I’m saying you should not let your failures define you. Paul gave the solution, remember that Christ is in you, stand in faith, renew your mind (repent), put on your true eternal identity and proclaim Christ through your faith!! The presence of God can only dwell in a place that’s holy, knowing that you’re truly righteous and holy is properly understanding the Lord’s body

I don’t want to help you feel less guilty when you sin, I want to help you know that God is not holding your sin against you in any capacity, not so you can be free to sin but so that you can be free from sin.

God wants you to thrive and prosper, he wants you to be able to receive his blessings and be a blessing to others. God wants to extravagantly glorify himself through you to the point that the world is thankful for God because of the kind of blessing you are in the world. IN EVERY WAY!!

2 Corinthians 9:10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

In the coming weeks, I will be staying on this topic, I will discuss God’s favor, generosity and the idea of blessing. Stay tuned as we all open our hearts to thrive + prosper.

Full Transcript

thrive + prosper
1 Examine Yourself to Find Faith Not Sin
Clint Byars - July 21, 2019

00:00 Clint Byars: This week, I'm going to start Thrive and Prosper. It's gonna be about a four-part series. And it's really cool, I love when other people, when the gifts of God in other people rise up and confirm the direction that He's wanting to go. So this idea of thrive and prosper comes out of a couple of different ideas. I've had this idea sitting in my notes for a few months and I've just been adding to it and it felt like the right time to go into it. God wants to bless you, all the way back to Abraham, all the way back to when God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees. Abram's father was a priest in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar, a demonic kingdom serving pretty much a demon himself. And God called first generation out of that to be the blessing, the seed, the one through which God would bless the entire earth. Now, we know that the seed of Abraham is Christ. And so blessing is in the earth because of salvation as offered to all, but also through his family. God has wanted from the beginning that covenant that He promised to Abraham to bless him so that through his lineage that his offspring would be a blessing to all the nations and families of the earth. Amen? 

01:21 S?: Amen.

01:22 CB: Am I going too fast? I had a lot of coffee this morning, so I'm gonna get going here in a minute. That's what God wants for the body of Christ. He wants the fulfillment of that covenant that He made all the way back then, and that is that He would have a family, that He would have a priesthood, a family and a nation of priests on this earth carrying His presence, representing Him, drawing the whole world into His holiness and righteousness and union within Him to bless them, all the way back to the garden in Eden. That's what God wants for us. We've messed it up, He's gonna fix it at some point completely, but in the meantime, we get to carry as much of it as we can let ourselves experience, amen? 

02:06 CB: So we're gonna talk about this idea of thriving and prospering. Think about this, what if the family of God, the church, God's body, was so blessed by God in every way, not just money, I'm not just talking about money, but in every way that we were such a blessing to the earth, we didn't have to have socialized medicine, or socialized healthcare, any of that kind of stuff that mankind through government has tried and it will never work, it will never work. But what if the church was so blessed, was so open to the spirit of God that all of those issues went away. Think about that, I mean Solomon's... The richest man ever had more gold than they could count. They didn't even count the silver. Can you imagine that? "Yeah, we got so much gold we just spent our time counting that. We don't even count that silver." That's what it says. They didn't even count the silver. How many of you know how much silver you have? 

[laughter]

03:10 CB: You know what I mean. Whatever your silver may be. So we're talking about this idea, and we're just gonna... For about four weeks, we're gonna pour some water on that part of the Word, and it's all rooted in this particular passage here, 2 Corinthians 9:10-11, "He who supplies seed to the sower, He supplied seed for you to sow." You get that? One of these messages will be about money. I don't use the word tithe 'cause we're not under the Old Covenant. It's about generosity, it's about what you purpose in your heart to let God do through you, that you are a blessing and generous. You are not under a curse if you don't give. You don't owe God 10%, amen? You are free from the curse of the law, every aspect of it. Y'all been in this church too long, 'cause that would've been, should have been at least one amen.

[laughter]

04:05 CB: I know y'all have been hammered and guilted using the law to give in church before. We ain't gonna do that. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. Whose righteousness? 

04:27 S?: Ours.

04:28 CB: Whose? 

04:29 S?: Ours.

04:30 CB: Don't talk about that. Verse 11. By the way, your righteousness is His righteousness, you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, amen? 

04:39 S?: Amen.

04:40 CB: Alright, Verse 11. You will be enriched. This is what I want you meditating on every day for the next month. You will be enriched. Do you know how to use original language tools? Go and find them. We're gonna talk... I'm gonna jump in our Facebook group this week and do some live streaming and do some study on this type of stuff, do some collective prayer and meditating on the Word to cultivate fruit within us, so it'll be fun. If you're not in that group, if you're watching online, you can jump in there as well. Just go to the website, forward.church, and at the bottom, join the online community and you'll get in there. So you will be, say "enriched".

05:16 S?: Enriched.

05:18 CB: Watch, in the every way.

05:20 S?: In every way.

05:22 CB: Think about that, enriched in every way, to be generous in every way, isn't that amazing? Generous with your time, generous with your wisdom, your knowledge, your emotional depth. A lot of people need some stability. There are so many people that have no depth of faith within them, they're so emotionally shallow. Doesn't make them bad people, they've just been beat up by life. They need somebody that they can draw from. Prayerfully, you know how to have boundaries in place so that they don't become dependent upon you and you create some co-dependency, but people need us to be at peace. Amen? You'll be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. You see the picture here? See, I love finding little nuggets like this and relating them to other passages. This is exactly the same as what Jesus prayed in John 17, that He's taken back up the glory that He had before He went with the father, He's given us that glory, He is praying that we would be one, we, the collective body. Drive up and down the street here, however many churches are, however many signs they are, we. Say "we".

06:44 S?: We.

06:44 CB: We divide ourselves up too often. But anyway, "Which through us will produce thanksgiving to God." So that He prayed that we would be one, that we would know that we're one in Him, just as one with God as Christ is, and that our love for one another would be a testimony to the world that God sent Jesus into this earth. I say that a lot. It is a huge aspect of just kind of the vibe of what we feel like the message is that God has given us to continually camp on in this church. We are to be so united with one another in God, in Christ, that our love for one another shows the world, "Man, these Jesus followers over there. I don't know about that seven-day creation, or six day, seven-day creation, and I don't know about that... " Seven... Six day. I know what it is, six day. Anyway, "I don't know about those, that boat and all them animals. I don't know about all that stuff. But that love thing, that makes me wanna believe that God sent Jesus into the earth." And it's possible. That's not just elementary, that's not just kids church stuff. That's the mandate of the church. Amen? 

07:55 S?: Amen.

07:57 CB: So I see that in here, that you would be enriched. It's enriching to experience your unity with God, isn't it? In fact, that's how you become, you let that enrichment ticking up within you. It's like a plant growing its roots deeper into the ground. It finds those minerals and draws them, draws that stuff out of the soil into itself, and up through it and assimilates it and produces fruit. That is us, drawing on the Spirit of God within us to produce fruit as we walk in love toward another. "which through us... " So then that produces thanksgiving to God, not from us, I mean from us, yes, but from the world. You being enriched in every way and being generous in every way will produce thanksgiving from the world because what that enrichment is doing through you, you being a blessing to the world. What if the general consensus amongst unbelievers in this earth was, "I don't know if I believe, but I'm thankful for Christians because of the power and the influence and the blessing that they are to this earth?"

09:09 S?: Amen.

09:11 CB: That's what he's talking about. I expect that. I'm not waiting for the church to shrivel up and the fruit to die on the vine, and we be an impotent church and God's gotta come rescue us. I don't know what the future looks like, but I know His kingdom will continue to increase, amen? 

09:26 S?: Amen.

09:27 CB: And I expect this to happen to the church. I see it happening through this church. We had Jimmy up here, the last couple of weeks. We had Sebastian up. How great did Sebastian do last week? That was incredible. Show him some love. He's probably watching online.

[applause]

09:41 CB: That's what it looks like, fruit. And then I know something... I know about their lives and how they're being a blessing to others. Alright, so here we go, this week, starting this series, we're gonna talk about examine yourself. But I've got the sub-heading there to find faith, not sin. You examine yourself to find faith, not sin. Let me ask you this, have you ever in your life, in your church life, not taken communion because you felt guilty that week or you sinned that weak, or for some reason related to your behavior that week, you didn't take communion that week? Raise your hand. Be honest, raise your hand. Hold it up high for me please. Look around. That's half, more than half. Some of y'all aren't raising your hands, but you did it anyway. It has been taught in Christianity that if you take communion the wrong way, you might go to hell, Let's just say it. There was a lady back here, Mia, that mentioned, she said that she was Catholic, and they'd go to confession on Saturday, and they had to try really hard not to sin to get to church on Sunday so they'd take communion.

10:52 S?: Amen.

10:54 CB: I've never heard that. I didn't really grow up in church. I'm like, "Why did you go?" Interesting. She said, "You know, that Saturday night and that Sunday morning, we felt really good. We were like on a pink cloud. We just felt really good." I'm like, "You know what that's called? Self-righteousness." It's okay to have confidence and be proud of yourself when you resist temptation. That's proper, that's healthy, that's good fruit. But if you think you're right standing is because you didn't sin for that 18-hour period, you have missed the gospel. Amen? So examine yourself in the words of what we're talking about.

11:37 CB: Now, it's mostly that phrase usually comes up where we're talking about communion. We're gonna look in 1 Corinthians 11, and we'll go through it, look at a couple more passages and deal with it. But here's the problem. That idea of examining yourself and disqualifying yourself because of your behavior something that God has for you is rampant. Most of us do that whether we realize it or not. We're constantly checking, we're examining ourselves to see where we missed it. And when we identify areas, and some of us have areas that are much easier to identify than the others, you want me to point you out? I won't do that. I'll do this. How's that? 

[laughter]

12:15 CB: That's what we do. We spend our lives, our days examining ourselves, and then we come up with an emotion like guilt or shame or regret. I mean, how many of you've lived with regret? It's horrible. It's horrible, isn't it? It's like paralyzing. Guilt and shame can be paralyzing. If you've never really dealt with a sin habit or some kind of past that is just like every time you think about it, you kind of flinch a little bit, then you know what I'm talking about. And you're constantly aware of it. And there may be even emotions associated with it. That's not the examining that you're supposed to be doing, and we're gonna get there.

13:01 CB: It is possible... See, I don't have this in my notes, but let me just cover this real quick. There is this concept of your heart, this is in Hebrews, being sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Now, under the old covenant, the priest would commit the... Would execute their... Enacted the sacrifice and take that blood and sprinkle it on the altar, and that blood sprinkling on the altar was a temporary substitutionary atonement for your sin. Temporary atonement. We have an eternal, once and for all atonement, amen? So rather than the altar, this brazen altar, we have a new heart. And that blood, that life blood, spiritual, it's hard to even understand and grasp it, but we have the model in the old that we can understand under the new, your heart has been sprinkled from an evil conscience, from sin consciousness. That means that sin that you carry around, and that regret and that shame, God has cleared you from that. God is not holding your sin against you. You will not get to Heaven and stand in the line for whether or not you’re righteous and qualified for eternal life, and God's gonna check off, "You did this, you didn't do that. You are not righteous enough. Go that way."

14:27 CB: Now, if you're a legalist, you're thinking, "Well, it kinda sounds like you're saying sin's okay." But just hang on, hang tight, keep listening, we'll get you there. But that is the proper response of a legalist. "I don't know [14:46] ____, I'm just completely free, completely innocent? I'm completely absolved from the law? You mean I could do anything and God's not holding it against me 'cause I'm under the blood?" Bingo. No. The condition of your heart tells me how much you really desire to express holiness and righteousness that you've been given. 'Cause if you hear that and you think, "Man, I'm partying tonight."

[laughter]

15:18 CB: Or, "Oh wow. I wanna protect, I wanna guard this new heart. I don't want to sow seed that would cause me the lust of the eye, or the lust of the flesh, or the pride of life, or the deceitfulness of riches. I don't wanna be distracted by that stuff, 'cause I wanna guard this garden that's in my heart to let the Word of God bear fruit within me. Amen? 

[applause]

15:46 CB: Now, most of us have an examining of self process that we're holding that stuff against ourselves. Does this mean that sin is okay? Does this make you wanna go sin? If it does, I got an office right over there and we can talk about it. Alright, so examine yourself, see if you're in faith, not sin. Now, let's go ahead and look at 1 Corinthians 4, this is Paul. Watch this, this is powerful, "Let a man regard us in this manner." So he's talking about how the body of Christ is representing, how people view the body, talking to Christians, "Let's live this way." "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." Anybody got any mysteries rolling around in your heart? You could prophesy that.

16:37 CB: Verse 2, "In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy." Bearing the fruit of trust, being able to be depended on. "But to me, it's a very small thing that I may be examined by you." I love Paul. Paul's like, "Look, I don't care what you think about me." "A little thing for me to be examined by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even examine myself, for I am conscious of nothing against myself." Think about that, that's a clear conscience right there. Do you think Paul was living 100% sin free? Think about it. Probably not, but he's aware of nothing. We're talking about thriving, we're talking about blessing coming alive within you, we're talking about you being so full of and open and aware of God and full of His Word, and confident before Him, your heart trusting Him, so that you thrive. You thrive to the point where you are blessed in every way, generous in every way, and it causes thankfulness to God because of what He's doing, what you're letting Him do through you. That's what we're talking about. "I'm conscious of nothing against me." This to me sounds like one of the promises of the new covenant, "I will no longer hold your sin against you." That mean sin's okay? No. It just means that's not the context through which God is relating to you in now, right? Alright.

18:12 CB: "I'm conscious of nothing against myself, but I am not by this acquitted." So he gets it. He's like, "Look I'm not even holding anything against myself, but it's not that that causes me to be righteous." "Yet I am not by this acquitted, but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore, do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will bring both to light the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts, and then each man's praise will come to him from God." This is a reference to the end, the resurrection, the final judgment. Whatever happens up until then, I expect the kingdom to increase. There could be some really bad things. We got Elon Musk creating brain robots to talk to you and teach you things, and learn from you. You guys ever see that? Elon Musk got some brain robots happening? 

19:07 S?: [19:09] ____.

19:11 CB: How far do... I did not wanna go into that right now.

[laughter]

19:14 CB: Brain robots, Elon. Go watch Neuralink, Elon Musk. You know Elon Musk, SpaceX guy, brilliant.

19:20 S?: Amazing.

19:22 CB: Is working with a company that is doing the research to install little itty bitty robots into the brain, about 10 or 12 they figure they can get in there, and they read and write. So, of course, it's a benevolent venture and that is... Alright, I'm just gonna go there. It's pretty interesting. You wanna hear about it? 

[laughter]

19:50 CB: Tell me to shut up if you want me to...

19:50 S2: In the year 2525, there was a song about that in the '70s.

19:56 CB: Okay, here we go. This is what he's doing, he... Really, what this is is a shortcut to transformation. It's a carnal mechanism that could produce transformation, and if used properly would be pretty cool, but I don't want those things in my brain, I don't know about you. But the idea is this, they put these things in there in healthy people, too, and because your brain produces electrical activity that's electromagnetic in nature and the electrical imprint and signature of the brain activity of walking produces an electrical signature that reads out and it's consistent between people, these robots will read that brain activity in one person, put it in a computer, send it to the other person who can't walk, their legs can't walk, they will imprint that electrical frequency, that electrical signature through those things into the brain to teach that brain how to resonate on those frequencies which produce walking.

20:58 S?: Oh, my God! 

21:02 S?: Wow! 

[background conversation]

21:03 CB: Now, what if they could do that with sinlessness? What if they could do that with teaching you how to make a bunch of money? I'm just thinking about it. I'm just... I went there so I'm gonna play with it for a minute, I don't know. Where they get that idea? They got that idea because of the function of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is your brain robot, the Holy Spirit is your heart robot. He is the one that teaches you how to live godly. He uses His grace to teach you to walk in His blessing. His Spirit can teach your body how to receive healing. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is giving life to your physical body. What does that sound like to you? It sounds like healing, sounds like life to me.

21:56 CB: Alright, rabbit trail over, back to this. "Therefore, do not go on passing judgment before the time but wait... " So this is talking about the end, the final judgment, the resurrection, just quickly. This is expressed in other areas, but what he's talking about is, at the end, at the resurrection, everybody goes before God, everybody stand before God. Believers go before the judgment seat of Christ, everybody goes before the great white throne of judgment. Judgment seat of Christ, the believers, your works are judged, but not for righteousness, for reward.

22:31 CB: You're already righteous in Him. When you pass away, you go stand before Him, you don't have to repent as your soul leaves your body to get righteous before Him. You know what I mean? You're there. But in that resurrection, we do know there is a time when everybody's before Him, and believers that have Christ in them receive a reward for their work, and it even says you will suffer loss, but you yourself will be saved. So just like you go up there with your little red wagon full of works and you pass through that fire, [23:00] ____ your stuff might...

[laughter]

23:02 CB: And you're like, whoo! 

[laughter]

23:04 CB: Thank God I'm safe. I thought those were some pretty good works but they didn't make it.

[laughter]

23:14 CB: And then there's some that will be gold and silver, whatever that looks like. But heaven forbid those who do not have Christ, lake of fire, second death, perish. That's why we gotta preach the gospel. That's why we should be active sharing our faith, amen? That's why we travel around the world and live in a foreign country for 10 years, to announce the gospel, amen? 

23:36 S?: Amen.

23:38 CB: Alright, examine yourself. We live a lifestyle of looking at the things that we've done wrong, carrying the emotion and limiting what God can do through us because we walk in guilt way too often. It doesn't mean that you should just not feel guilty for your sin, but when you release, when you alleviate the guilt, it's an interesting thing how you will steward freedom well. It's the reason I know that this nation was founded on Christian principles, because that is the foundation of the idea. Set them free, trust that they will live well and treat each other graciously and watch freedom thrive. You will thrive in freedom. Sebastian said something last week about that, about people stewarding their freedom well. Anyway, go watch it.

24:28 CB: Alright, next verse. We're getting it to the part where he talks about examining yourself and feeling guilty if you've lived improperly and you disqualify yourself from communion. That's horrible that that's the way it happens. It's happened, but let's correct that. Sound good? Not just so that you'll be happy when you take communion and actually do it focused on the Lord, but so that you'll learn a mechanism of not living life of constantly examining yourself, constantly wondering and feeling like you haven't done enough, you don't measure up, you've done too much. I've had the opportunity to minister to so many people that feel like they just crossed the line, they've done just a little too much and that's it for them. There're no hope for their salvation. Mental institutions are full of people like that, think they've committed the unpardonable sin. I mean, there's a statistic at one point, I'd have to go back and read again, but 75% of the people in mental institutions that would talk about spiritual ideas would say, "It's too late for me, I can't be saved, I've done too much wrong." And it drove them crazy. It's that powerful. I don't want you to go crazy, I want you to quit examining yourself. That's a bad word, crazy, right? Anyway.

25:43 CB: "But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse." Talking about communion in context. "For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you." That phrase, divisions exist among you, is the whole concept of judgment coming for improperly taking communion or mistreating people and not honoring the Lord's body in communion the right way. So it leads into examining yourself, which leads into other areas of our life. Remember that, divisions exist among you, 'cause that's the context of the judgment, alright? "And in part, I believe it." So he's, "I've heard these things about you and I believe it." How'd you like Paul to say that? "I heard this was really bad about you and I believe it."

[laughter]

26:40 CB: "For there must also be factions among you so that those who are approved may become evident among you. Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's supper, for in your eating, each one takes his own supper first, and one's hungry and another's drunk." What! It's like this, if you were to come in here, we do communion collectively the first Sunday of every month, but we have the elements out every week if you're interested in taking them. But it would be like if all the rich people sat here, and all the poor people sat back there, and all the white people sat back there, and all the black people sat right there, that's what's going on here. And all these people come in and they eat up all the food and they're drinking up all the wine, and the other people, the poor people, they're going... 'cause for them, it was more of a meal, a collective meal that they would come in and they would eat. It was like a meal program for the church. They'd come in and they'd celebrate, and they would honor the Lord and remember His body and they did it in remembrance of Him. But these people are coming for the party. That's what he's talking about. Those are the divisions that he's talking about. You see it, right? Pretty clear.

27:47 CB: "What? Don't you have houses to eat and drink? Or do you despise... " He didn't say... Anyway. Or do you despise... You got it. [chuckle] Don't read into that. "Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I will not praise you." So now he's gonna correct it. "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which He was betrayed took bread." You see that picture? He's before the 12, He knows what's about to happen. He knows He's about to be betrayed, He knows that He's about to face the cross, He knows that He's about to let Himself be arrested. He knows that He's about to become the curse, He knows that He is the sin offering to the world. And He's sitting at that table, and He knows it starts that night. You see that picture? That's what He's going through right now.

28:52 CB: "And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Now, do you feel that? Just kind of that reverence that... And what if somebody came running in here with kazoos and a bottle of wine? "Whoo!" And they're like, "Wanna party." It's like, "Man, we're talking about Jesus here." That's what's happening. "'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, He took the cup also after supper saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood.'" Stop laughing, you're gonna make me laugh.

[laughter]

29:32 CB: "Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." That's what it's all about. Remembering Him. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. That's the correction, that's what he's talking about. Now he's gonna go back again and deal with the divisions among them and how they're mistreating each other. And imagine what would happen, imagine what the poor people would be thinking about the rich people and the rich people thinking about the poor people. Imagine the rich people coming up and eating and drinking and they're drunk, what are they thinking about the poor people back there? You see that dynamic? That's what he's about to address.

30:14 CB: "Therefore, whoever eats bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." This is basically saying if you're coming into this environment and you're not honoring the body, your faith probably isn't in Him. That's not saying, "You better watch out." This is saying, "That's not how a Christian acts. I wonder if you're even saved," type things. Not that we try to judge each other by behavior, but this is what he's talking about. Do you even know what the Lord's body is about? Do you even know what He did for you? 'Cause that's what he's about to say. "Therefore, whoever eats the bread and drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner," not whether or not you've sinned that week, he just described what he's talking about. Do you see? This is really important that you see this. Unworthy manner, what does that mean? 

31:04 S?: Unbelieving.

31:05 CB: Does it? 

31:06 S?: Behavior?

31:09 CB: Because he just described it right before this.

31:11 S?: How they're treating each other around.

31:12 CB: How they're treating each other. How they're coming in to honor the body. You do see that, right? Whoever takes it in an unworthy manner, he just defined it. Do you see that? We don't just get to make up because I sinned this week. He's talking about how they're expressing their faith in that moment. Is that clear? 

31:37 S?: Yes.

31:37 CB: Alright, it's very important. "But a man must examine himself." Now wait a minute, Paul, you just said you don't examine yourself. "But a man must examine himself and in so doing, he is to eat the bread and drink of the cup, for he who eats... " So examine yourself to find faith. We're gonna read in a moment where he says, "Examine yourself to see if you're in the faith." That's what he's talking about. Don't examine yourself looking for sin. He already defined what unworthy manner is. Examine yourself to make sure that you're focused on Christ. "For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly." You eat and drink judgment to who? 

32:28 S?: Yourself.

32:29 CB: So where's the judgment coming from? 

32:32 S?: You

32:32 CB: Is it coming from God? 

32:34 S?: No.

32:35 CB: Pretty clear. What is the judgment based on? That you're not judging the body rightly, not that you sinned that week. I mean, I'm breaking out the scalpel, 'cause this is important. Pay attention and listen to this and get this in your heart. The unworthy manner in which he's addressing is not whether or not you sinned that week, it's whether or not you're coming in and you're honoring and you're reverencing and you're remembering what He did. And then it spills out into trustworthiness and how they treat each other. Are you with me? 

33:14 S?: Amen.

33:16 CB: "For he who eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason," what reason? Not judging the body rightly, not understanding the body of Christ. When you don't understand the body of Christ, for this reason, many among you are weak and sick and a number sleep. King James says, "Or die prematurely." When you don't understand the Lord's body, you are weak, you are sick, and you might die prematurely. In other words, the Lord's body is life to you, health, long life. I think in week three, we're gonna go through Psalm 71, and there's a promise in there, "With long life I will satisfy you."

34:00 S?: Wow.

34:03 CB: You believe that? 

34:03 S?: Mm-hmm.

34:05 CB: Is that for you? 

34:07 S?: Yeah.

34:11 CB: I'm reading straight through Scripture here, keeping it in context. Are you with me? 

34:15 S?: Yes.

34:17 CB: You have to add a layer of eisegesis to come up with, "My sin this week." Eisegesis is when you read yourself into Scripture. Exegesis is when you through and you lift it out in context, in order of what it's actually saying. We're talking about what it's actually saying.

34:36 S?: Wow. I've never heard that.

34:39 CB: I Corinthians 11:31, keep going, "But if we judge ourselves rightly... " How do you do that? We're gonna get there, "We would not be judged." Probably by each other, and even themselves. I mean, maybe one of them went home and was like, "Man, I shouldn't have drank so much. We're supposed to be talking about Jesus." We would not be judged, but when we are judged, so then when you feel that conviction, when you feel that guilt, when you feel that shame, look what happens. "We're disciplined by the Lord," He makes you a disciple, "so that we will not be condemned along with the world." So that you will not be condemned. Wait a minute, wait a minute. I thought if I sinned this week and I come in and I take communion the wrong way, I'm condemned, 'cause that's what we think "judged" means, condemned. There's a difference. Condemned is, this is your sentence, death. God, if you mishandle it, wants to discipline you back, not with cancer or losing your job or you break your foot that week, whatever things people assign to the will of God or the working or the sovereignty of God. No. It's... We're gonna get to what he's talking about. I'm gonna show you how to judge yourself. Hold that thought.

36:02 CB: If anyone... "But when we are, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world." He doesn't want you condemned. He's not setting it up saying if you take it wrong, you're condemned. He's setting it up saying if you take it wrong, you're gonna produce all this judgment within yourself and all this... You're not understanding the Lord's body, but God will discipline you back to understanding the Lord's body, and He does it with His Word and with His Spirit. "So then my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another." Again, back into context, wait for one another. He's addressing the collective. He's not addressing the individual, he's not addressing whether or not you've sinned that week. He's back on context, stating context the whole time. Do you see it? He never left the topic of how they were coming in and acting together as a church. "If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home so that you'll not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I'll arrange when I come." There's probably something that we're missing in translation about judgment to yourself, but what is clear is that He doesn't want to condemn you, He wants the body to be brought back into the unity of Christ, and it's not... I mean, it's not for condemnation. I hope you see that. So we're gonna keep on going.

37:25 CB: So here's the question. How do you judge yourself? 'Cause he said that, right? He says if you judge yourself properly, then you're understanding the body and you won't be weak, sick, and die premature. 'Cause he says those who take it in properly don't understand the Lord's body, and are weak, sick, and die premature. Do you see that? All right. So how do you judge yourself properly? Watch this. This is amazing. Same book... Well, 2 Corinthians is really just a continuation. "Examine yourselves," there it is again, "to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or don't you realize this about yourself, that Jesus Christ is in you?" Unless indeed you fail to meet the test. The only test there is is Jesus in you.

38:17 CB: Now, for these guys, they would have known Jesus is the exact representation of the invisible God. This would mean Jesus is the presence of God. This would mean what he's saying is, "Don't you know?" So when you examine yourself to be in faith, don't you know the presence of God is in you? The presence of God cannot be in an unholy, unworthy vessel. You examine yourself, rooted in Christ in you, the presence of God in you. We don't get it in our Gentile mindset to know... We don't get the power of what it means to have the Spirit of the living God within us, that the presence of God is in us. You know that presence that was hidden behind a curtain, that if they carried the wrong way on the ark, death; that if you touched, death; that they couldn't even go into the direct presence of; death? That presence, that holy creative presence is in you, not to kill you but to bring you life, to be a blessing through you.

39:36 CB: We don't know what's in us, we just don't. We carry this guilt and the shame, and we throw all this mud on top of our heart that should be yielding to the power of the presence of God within us in a real way that produces real transformation. I mean real transformation where you stop worrying, you quit playing around with that sin, you quit depending on money as your peace, you quit holding stuff against each other in a proper order. Test yourselves. This is what you do, test yourself, like right now, test yourself. Don't you know that Jesus is in you? What does that mean to you that He's in you? I wrote this just to encapsulate the idea. This is around the idea of judging yourself, examining yourself, testing yourself, this is how you do it. If God judged you, you'd be found guilty and condemned to the lake of fire, which is the second death. However, Christ became your sin and served your sentence of condemnation for you. There is now no condemnation for you who are in Christ. Does that make you wanna go sin? 

40:58 S?: No.

41:01 CB: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. That is properly judging the Lord's body because that's the effect. So you properly understand the Lord's body by understanding the effect of His body, which is, He is the veil through which you enter the presence of God, that His body was cursed for you so you will never experience the curse of the law; that His body bore your disease so that you can experience life in Him. That's understanding the body. That is applicable in every situation of your life. What is it that His body experienced and accomplished and overcame for you in your situation? If you truly understand that, it will be long life for you, that being what His body accomplished. And I'm not talking about having enough faith or any of that kind of stuff, I'm talking about understanding what He did and living within the power of that. Understanding the Lord's body means you understand that He took the penalty of sin for you, which means you are set free from the law of sin and death. Those who do not allow Christ to be that propitiation for them stand condemned, but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. The only test you need to pass is having Christ in you.

42:23 S?: Amen.

42:27 CB: Bring it down for a minute, kind of a practical life, this sounds good, appreciate it, good doctrine in the Bible, teaching, fine, wonderful teaching. Your life, you're about to go out and live the rest of your life, daily. Test yourself, examine yourself. Because the reality is Christ in you is the solution to every problem you will face. "Well, Jesus isn't my spouse. I need a spouse." Okay, let's think about that. Jesus can give you peace, He could speak life to you, He can transform your heart, He can lead you in such a way and make you, if you yield to that process of transformation and be transformed, into the person that can receive who He has for you. Jesus ain't your husband. I mean, the Father God has betrothed Himself to us, 'cause you hear that, right? You hear, "Jesus is everything that you need." And there's somebody sitting over there going, "Well, you know what, I need some food today. I need to be able to get to work. I need my kids to quit being crazy. How is Jesus gonna be there for me?"

43:41 CB: He will in the form of wisdom, sanctification, redemption, transformation, but you gotta engage the Word of God. You have to engage the Spirit of God at a heart level. That means you gotta read the Bible. Put it in there, 'cause that's what He's gonna use to work you into what He wants you to be. He's gonna use that to mold and shape you. He's gonna use that to change how you think. Think of your thoughts and your choices as frequency. When you harmonize with how He's trying to lead you, you will experience what He wants to put through you. And what He wants to put through you is blessing, to the degree that in every way you are enriched in Him, and in every way you are generous so that people are thankful toward God.

44:35 CB: So here's the last idea, examine yourself to see if you understand the Lord's body in your situation. Does that make sense to you? You're gonna go out and you're gonna live your life, you got choices to make, you got things to do. In a real way the body of Christ. So I'll give you some homework, go to Isaiah 53, read through it, really 53 and 54. Read through 53 and 54, because that's the exchange of what happened on the cross. There's so many areas but we'll just start there, Isaiah 53. Go and read through what He went through for you. Understand it and let the Holy Spirit teach you how that's applicable to your specific situation. 'Cause this is what we do as Christians, we go to church, it's like, "Man, that was pretty good. Clint was on fire today." Thank you very much, I appreciate that.

[laughter]

45:27 CB: "Now I got this problem here. What should I do?" You know? Right? How do we actually engage the Spirit of God to be led and taught by the Spirit for life? You know how to do that? I don't know how to teach you how to do that, but the Holy Spirit will. Like this is as far as I go. Now you take it from there. You and your God. You and the Spirit of God in you. Use this method, use this idea, use this principle, this doctrine, this truth. Examine yourself. In this situation, I'm feeling fear. Do I understand the Lord's body? I'm feeling regret, I'm feeling shame, I'm confused, do I understand the Lord's body? I'm sick, I got a bad report, do I understand the Lord? Let me dig in Scripture and find out what He did, how does this relate to this situation? And there's just something that we don't understand... Even when Jesus talks about it in Mark 4, Matthew 13, the Word in there is gonna produce fruit, it bears fruit after its own kind. And He says, "This is... You don't know... This is how it works. The farmer puts the seed in there, he goes to sleep, he wakes up, and it bears fruit."

46:41 CB: We don't trust that the Word of God can bear fruit unto sustainability in your life, unto practical application in your life. We wanna go to church where they give us the seven points and they give us all these little cute little outlines, you write your words down, it's like, "Well, this is what Bible, this is what the preacher said today," but you don't really engage the Spirit of God and change. Change that thing, change yourself, your brain literally becomes rewired. That's a process. That's sometimes why repentance is so hard because there's a physical aspect to it. When you're thinking a certain way, limiting yourself to your own effort or your own sin, and you gotta change how you're thinking to become dependent on God, the physical body has to work and change as well. Your neurons have to learn, you gotta fire new neurons and think in different ways. I would love to see a long-term study of the brain activity of transformation.

47:44 S?: Wouldn't that be cool? 

47:47 CB: That'd be pretty cool because it's real. Your brain is in a state of neuroplasticity. You can grow new cells, you can grow new neurons, you can think different ways, you can become outwardly what you really already are inwardly. This is what we're doing, we're renewing our mind and putting on our identity in Christ so that we... This is how I see God as wanting to... He's not trying to tell you, "Do this, do this, do this, do this, do this. Oh, you did really well. I'mma bless you today." It's like, "No. Unlimited blessing is your path. Now remove that. Quit thinking that way. Quit believing that. Believe this 'cause this is the reality." It's like you're a fire hose that's limiting itself with all this junk that's just untrue. Do you see it? 

48:40 CB: Now this is the part where I wish I understood more of the dynamic of transformation because it's something that you just gotta engage yourself. But you do it this way, you judge yourself, ask yourself, "Don't I know that Jesus is in me?" What does that mean to you? That just a Scripture? Or is it real? Is it alive? What passage relates to where I'm at? I might not understand it, I'm not even sure that I believe it, but I know this, that my Lord, my savior told me that if I put this in, it will bear fruit. So I'm gonna camp out on it. Now, when you distract and you start to drift away from your hope in that thing, it chokes out the Word, it chokes it, it limits it, it strangles it. Any gardeners in here? You know about gardening? When those weeds and those vines come in and they strangle? It chokes out, it limits the fruit. That's what unbelief is. That's what all of this junk is. That's what guilt and shame is, it's limiting. The thing itself is alive, you yourself are alive. But fruit may be hindered because of not engaging the Word of God within you.

49:54 CB: Now, you probably agree with this. I'm sure that 100% of everybody in this room would say, "Yes, the Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is true. It works." But are you doing anything about it? Are you actually taking Scripture, putting it in your heart, in your mind, meditating on it, making it your hope, writing down the insights that you get from it in that specific area? What does the Bible say about your situation? It's not that challenging but we don't do it. I mean we think that we do, but we don't. I'm telling you the truth. I mean, I don't wanna just stand up here and preach at you. I want this church, the body of Christ to be that entity that can solve the material problems of the world. Do you believe that's possible? It's happened. Churches have built hospitals. Churches have provided in communities, all kind of things. It doesn't change hearts. You can't legislate righteousness. You can't change somebody from the outside, but it starts to open their heart to let God in, right? 

51:06 S?: Oh, yeah.

51:07 CB: Praise God. I have, I have just incredible unlimited optimistic expectation that the Word of God works. I just wish I believed it every time.

51:22 S?: Amen.

51:22 CB: Amen? 

51:22 S?: Amen.

51:24 CB: So what's your homework? I hope you come up with your own homework. Go through Isaiah 53. I'm going to jump in our Facebook group this week that we have that's for the church. If you're watching online, send us a message to the church Facebook page. We'll add you to that if you want if you're in here and you're not in. And if you're not on Facebook, well, you're just gonna miss out, I'm sorry but...

[laughter]

51:44 CB: No, I'll try to figure out how to get that to you, but send us an email, info@forward.church if you're not on Facebook and you want to participate. We'll figure it out. And by it, I mean we might even take Isaiah 53 and just walk through it together and meditate on it. Maybe some of you can post, "Alright, this is the area of my life that I'm dealing with." And together we'll look at it, go through the Word, find some things, you stand on it. I mean, you eat every day, you do certain things every day, let's stand on the Word every day.

52:16 S?: Every day.

52:17 CB: Amen? 

52:18 S?: Amen.

52:18 CB: The last idea. Examine yourself to see if you understand the Lord's body in your situation. It's there, and it's powerful, and it works. Amen? 

52:28 S?: Amen.

52:28 CB: Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you that we are at peace with you, we trust you, and we don't wanna limit you. And we want to be an open vessel for you to pour your blessing through, so that we are enriched in every way, and that we are generous in every way, to the point that it brings thanksgiving to you because people have experienced that blessing. We trust you, we love you.

53:00 CB: You know, if you're not in here or if you're in here, and you don't know the Lord, you're watching online, you're just not sure that you have Christ in you, if you have expressed faith in what He did for you, He's in you. If you've never done that, it's very simple, just make the decision, just even in your heart, if you're in this place right now and you're not sure, or you know you're not sure. Just invite Him, "I trust you Lord. Jesus I believe that what you did was for me. I am open to you. Fill me with your Spirit. I trust you. I trust you." And then contact us and we'll walk you through it and help you out. Alright, we made it.

The Gift of Tongues Aligns Creation to Reflect God's Will

“Science cannot solve the ultimate mystery of nature. And that is because, in the last analysis, we ourselves are a part of the mystery that we are trying to solve.”

— Max Planck - Nobel Prize in Physics winner, Originator of Quantum Theory

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Max Planck is credited with pioneering quantum theory. He discovered that humans are not merely impacted by nature, we are at interplay with the subatomic world. Through his research, Dr. Planck discovered that particles and waves respond to human observation at the quantum level. In layman’s terms, Planck discovered that matter behaves differently at the smallest observable level. It behaves differently based on human intention, emotion and observation. He said this in response to his discovery.

"Anyone who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: 'Ye must have faith.' It is a quality which scientists cannot dispense with. ... The pure rationalist has no place here.” ~ Max Planck

This points to the way God structured the world in Genesis when he gave mankind dominion over the planet.

Personally, I like to understand things from a scientific perspective, even spiritual things. We can apply the rules of science to matters of the spirit, we just have to think spiritually to understand the conclusions.

There is a consistent physics to spirit. Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, and its main goal is to understand how the universe behaves. I believe that the spirit of God within us will teach us the physics of Heaven as we trust God and grow in our identity in Him.

The spiritual spectrum is accessible now. The kingdom of Heaven is at hand, it is within. It is absolutely possible to understand the spiritual spectrum through our scientific understanding of the created world.

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20

This perspective does not put God in a box and it’s not trying to intellectualize spiritual matters, it actually demystifies spiritual realities and helps us interact with God’s spirit in a practical way. I don’t know about you but I’m not satisfied with interesting ideas and mysteries about God’s power, I want to see results. When I pray or seek to believe a promise, I want to know that what I’m doing is effectual, that’s it’s making a difference. I want to be able to observe changes when I trust God. I don’t just want to say I have faith, I want that trust in God to come to pass and manifest in this dimension. God gave us a way to work with him to see the manifestation of His spiritual promises.

God Declares His Will Through You

He gave you his spirit so you would understand what He put in you (1 Corinthians 2:12). His spirit is searching your heart to show you areas where you don’t trust Him, and He shows you the truth to believe about your identity in Him. Knowing His truth sets you free. He's trying to lead and guide you into all truth and His spirit is trying to reveal to you what He’s prepared for you, and how to navigate life to position yourself to walk in those good things, and be a blessing to others (John 16:13).

Praying with your spirit is cooperating with that process. God gave you authority over all creation, even at the subatomic level. When you pray with your spirit, God is collaborating with your authority to declare His will.

Through Christ, God has given you spiritual powers/gifts/graces to influence the material world. One of those graces is “tongues.” “Praying in tongues” is the popular phrase used in Charismatic and Pentecostal denominations but the more Biblical concept is “praying with your spirit.” You can actually pray and praise with your spirit.

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 1 CORINTHIANS 14:14-15

Praying with your spirit edifies you, it helps you open your heart to receive strength from God in your inner man. If you’re at church, someone might even get an interpretation after you pray with your spirit. See 1 Corinthians 14 for the Apostle Paul’s instruction on the operation of tongues in church.

“Tongues” just means “language.” Your physical tongue is involved but the power of praying this way comes from your spirit. Actually, it’s your spirit cooperating with God’s spirit and your tongue just interacts with this world through the sounds that are formed.

There are no magic words being spoken when you use this gift, you are simply creating sound with your mouth. What makes those sounds powerful is your authority as a human being coupled with God’s declaration. Praying with your spirit, in unintelligible tongues, is simply yielding your human authority to God and allowing Him to pray through you.

There may be times when your heart and your spirit are not engaged. There are times when you’re just making sounds. But there are also times when your faith is involved and your spirit cooperates with God’s spirit in you and you speak words, groanings, songs and simple sounds that are directly from God’s spirit.

Imagine adding another layer to the sounds that are coming out of your mouth, a spiritual layer that is given shape, a container, by the sounds and words you’re speaking. God uses the sounds coming our of your mouth as a vehicle for His spirit to declare His will through you. He does this because He designed this world to respond to humans, I’ll say more about that a little later in this article.

The Material World Responds to Mankind

The material world responds to mankind. Our emotions affect the health of plants. Human observation affects matter at the quantum level. Photons arrange themselves in response to human DNA. Collaborative prayer can lower the crime rate in a city. These 3 videos touch on the first 3 points I made, click here to read about the Washington D.C. crime experiment.

As wild as these experiments may be, they reflect one simple truth, the created material world responds to mankind. God designed this world to respond to the presence and authority of humans. Your words make an impact on the physical. Your emotions and the beliefs of your heart have an electromagnetic and energetic effect of matter. This only serves to validate the importance of collaborating with God’s spirit within you when you speak and pray.

God knows this, so He gave us the wonderfully powerful way of praying from our spirit as to affect the material world. God does not work through magic, and His ways are not mysterious, they’re spiritual. We must think spiritually, but understand that we then impact the physical world.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

— Max Planck

All The Pieces Come Together

After you pray with your spirit, God makes everything work together for your good. That idea may sound familiar to you in part. Most Christians lift Romans 8:28 out of context and apply it to cancer, the loss of a child or even a cold. Romans 8:28 says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who I have been called according to his purpose." You can not lift out that passage and apply it randomly to life’s circumstances, you must apply it in context.

Here’s the context…

ROMANS 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who I have been called according to his purpose.

This is saying that after you have prayed in tongues, THEN God works everything together… How? He explained it, when you don’t know what to pray, He’ll pray through you and declare His will which causes all things to work out for your good. It’s actually a very simple concept but we have years of bad theology attached to this one passage.

God can make everything work out for your good because you’ve allowed Him to speak into your life through your own mouth. This reflects how incredibly important it is to utilize this gift.

Do It

If you’re struggling with praying with your spirit, or you’ve been taught it’s not for today, give it a try. If you are born again, you have God’s spirit living in you. Being baptized in the spirit is not when the spirit comes in you, it’s when it comes upon you. God’s spirit comes upon you from within you. So you can go ahead and do it, pray with your spirit or speak in tongues.

Try this, become aware of God in you, allow His presence to rise up within you and then give voice to that rising. Open your mouth and make sounds in response to the awareness of God’s spirit within you. He WILL declare His will through and it’s a promise of His that things WILL work out for you.

A Confirming Prophetic Word Was Given That Highlighted What God Wanted Us To Remember

Here’s some bonus content, this word came from Stacy Surfus. It’s a powerful confirmation of the message I shared, I think you’ll find it inspiring and insightful. I see this as a word directly from God to encourage you to use the authority in your mouth and pray with your spirit continually!!

“Sunday morning during the worship team sound check I felt like drawing in my notebook. So I opened it up and started drawing triangles over the places that ink had bled through the paper. While I was drawing I had the start of a sentence in my head, “All the pieces come together” and as I thought about it more I thought “At the sound of Your words” but words didn’t have the right feel so I scratched it out and wrote voice.

So the sentence became “All of the pieces come together at the sound of your voice.” I felt like it was the concept of what the Lord was trying to communicate so I dug deeper by looking at thesaurus.com to expand the concept into something concrete. Often this is how the Lord and I communicate, almost like playing a game while co-laboring. He makes it fun for me by allowing me to dig deeper and discover the beauty of what He is communicating. He also often speaks to me very poetically, and very visually.

As I searched the thesaurus the other words that jumped out at me to expand the word ‘pieces’ were fragments, elements, & segment; for ‘come together’ I added fall into place, line up, assemble and align; for ‘sound’ I discovered drop, ripple, vibration and resonance; lastly for voice I chose utterance, proclamation, affirmation and mandate.

It is easy to create multiple sentences by switching out these words for each other. The first three that I have put together that resonated with my spirit are the following: 

• All of the fragments assemble at the vibration of your utterance. 

• All of the elements align with the resonance of your proclamation.

• All of the pieces align at the drop of your voice.

I have sketched out two of these sentences and will probably continue to make more sentences and sketches as each of these ways of saying the same thing have touched on something deep and healing in my own heart and I know will have the opportunity to do the same in the hearts of others.

As a creative I know that sharing my expressions and their process of coming to be can have a profound impact on people because it is how I connect with God and often how He chooses to work through me. So may these words and images bless you in your journey, draw you into an encounter with the God of all creation, remind you that your words carry the power of life and death and bless you with the wisdom to use them to expand the Kingdom.”

You can connect with Stacy at https://www.manifestgumption.com

Can You Evolve Spiritually? Demystifying the Gifts of the Spirit.

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I used to sit on my roof, smoking marijuana, trying to send mental signals to UFOs to pick me up and take me on a trip to the Pleiades. I often used psychedelics to “expand my mind” and help me connect with the multiverse. I had a theory that I was more connected with other dimensions while I was on LSD. While I thought I was becoming more spiritual and increasing my awareness, it was actually leading me to a very dark place. I began to hear audible voices and had a direct, open encounter with multiple demons that lasted for months. I wrote about it in my book Devil Walk. Click for more on my book Devil Walk.

This article isn’t about that encounter, it’s about the mindset that facilitated the encounter. I believed that I could become more spiritual through the knowledge of secrets. I believed that I could ascend the “human condition” through expanded consciousness. The agent of expansion was psychedelics. I believed we were evolving into more spiritual beings. I believed aliens were more advanced humans, and could help me learn to become more evolved. I believed there were secrets I could learn in that altered state that would teach me to live in a higher plane.

Charismatics Are Like New Agers

The New Age community predominantly believes in evolution. They believe that the next phases of human evolution are not physical but spiritual in nature. In other words, we’re not evolving a better body, we’re developing a more spiritual mind or consciousness. This evolved consciousness will be able to interact with higher dimensions of existence that are free from illness, disease, government, religion, war, and a host of other worldly constructs. Many new agers believe you can tap into that realm through drugs.

Why am I making this point? Because many Christians believe the same thing, although they use different terms.

Spiritual Evolution

Spiritual evolution is actually a very common mindset in some circles of Christianity. Charismatic Christians are not necessarily using drugs to try to become more evolved spiritually, but they’re trying to become more spiritual, none the less. The truth is that we are complete in Christ, we have God’s spirit within us and we are as spiritual as we’ll ever be. We can become more confident in the power that is within us, but we can never gain more anointing or power. Most folks would actually agree with that but when the rubber meets the road, many Christians still believe things like this…

• There are different kinds of anointings (healing, prophetic, etc…)

• You can receive different anointings or gifts through impartation

• You can carry someone else’s mantle (anointing)

• You can gain more power over higher levels of demons through fasting

• There are keys to receive more anointing/power

• You can walk in the gifts more as you live more holy

The list goes on. When the Apostle Paul outlines the 9 Gifts or Graces of the Holy Spirit that God will empower within believers, he is very intentional to say there’s one spirit, one baptism of that spirit, one Lord, one body and it’s the same spirit who works all those graces in different people. All the gifts/graces are in all believers but God will lead different people to walk in the gifts/graces in different ways at different times.

Impartation

I make the point because too many believers have been taught that they are not as far along as they should be because they’re not performing miracles or giving prophecies. These kinds of teachers often offer the opportunity for an impartation so you can receive something you didn’t have before or walk in a power they’re walking in. It’s just simply not the way it works.

Many pull their beliefs about impartation from 2 Timothy 1:6 where Paul instructs Timothy to “fan into flame the gift that’s in him through the laying on of my hands.” Remember from my last two articles (here and here) that to have the spirit of God is to be anointed, and that anointing abides.

Paul is referring to Timothy’s ordination at Lystra, when Paul formally placed him as a shepherd in the church. He’s reminding Timothy that his assignment is to not be ashamed and preach the Gospel. If you read the whole chapter, the context is being placed in the body of Christ as an apostle and teacher, not receiving a power he didn’t already have.

How To Operate In The Gifts

Ok, now that you understand that you don’t need another anointing, more power or to grow spiritually, let’s talk about the actual gifts. The graces/gifts of the spirit are simply empowerments that God works through you for the benefit of all.

If you want to operate in the gifts/graces of God’s spirit within you, here are the ingredients.

• Love people, see the person you’re praying for through the eyes of God’s love for them

• Be at peace within your own heart, mind and soul

• Acknowledge God within

• Act on the inspiration that arises

Act On Inspiration

Love never fails! If you want to see God move through you and touch people’s lives with his power, love them. Don’t lead with the gift, don’t worry about trying to give a word or get them healed, just love them. Allow’s God’s love for that person to come alive within you to the point that you’re not even thinking about their need or any gift you want to operate in.

Then…

TRUST GOD!! The Holy Spirit will teach you what to do. Yes, really, that’s it! I promise you God is speaking to you and influencing your heart on what action to take next. No one can activate you into it, no one can impart something to you to make you do it, God won’t give you secret knowledge to help you understand it, but God will influence you and will teach you what to do and say.

How do you hear from him, how do you know what he’s saying? You tell me. You’ll never know if you don’t act.

I am not offering you a course in miracles, an outline of how to get words of knowledge or any information that will give you understanding, I’m simply telling you to love people and trust that God will lead you. You can do it. You hear and follow God better than you think you do. Get over the fear, the shame, the confusion, and act on love.

The Five Fold Ministry and God's Church

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God is building His church in the earth today. His church is also known as the Body of Christ. Every single Jesus follower has an assignment within God’s church or Christ’s body, including you. Some roles are formal while other roles may not even be recognized by the traditional church. I want you to know that you are important, you belong, and God has an assignment for you that brings Him glory and causes you to experience fulfillment.

The 5 Fold Ministry

The Apostle Paul received instruction from God about church government and how leadership should be structured, he wrote about it in his letter to the church at Ephesus. Paul mentions apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

Let me address this from the beginning, the “5 fold ministry” is NOT a hierarchy. A hierarchy is a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority. In the body of Christ, no person has authority over another. The 5 positions listed are offices of administration, not positions of authority or power.

All believers have the same authority, which is Christ in us. All believers have the same power, which is Christ in us. All believers have the same anointing, which is Christ in us. There is no apostolic anointing and there is no prophetic anointing, there is one anointing, one spirit and one Lord, Christ in us. The offices mentioned in Ephesians 4 are functions within the body of Christ, not positions of authority over other parts of the body of Christ.

Here’s why God instituted these offices of administration…

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to EQUIP THE SAINTS for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 UNTIL WE ALL ATTAIN TO THE UNITY of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

READ The Unknown Healer: Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit for more on the idea of anointing.

System of Control

It’s interesting that the “5 fold” is to help believers stay away from bad doctrine but sometimes people who overemphasize it end up perpetuating bad doctrine.

Here’s an example of what I mean, this is a popular teaching that is pervasive in circles that focus on apostolic and prophetic ministry. This progression starts with a truth then makes an extrapolation that strays into error and creates the possibility for control.

Here’s the progression...

• Jesus is coming back for a spotless bride.

• Jesus isn’t coming back until the bride is spotless.

• The 5 fold is for the perfecting of the saints.

• Therefore proper apostolic alignment is necessary for the bride to be perfected properly so Jesus can come back, because he’s not coming back for a bride he has to clean.

Many of you have encountered some form of this teaching. My question is, “what makes the bride spotless?” The obvious answer is, the blood of Christ. It is most assuredly NOT being aligned under the proper apostolic covering. There is no spiritual covering other than Jesus, no man or woman is your spiritual covering or authority.

The leaders in these kinds of churches end up taking on a role that is not proper, they place themselves between the believer and the Holy Spirit. If a man believes he’s this kind of apostle then it’s his responsibility to make you perfect. Usually a “culture” is formed around this idea and you must conform to rise through the ranks. If you don’t conform you are labeled as dishonoring or something similar. If you have been in those circles, you know the mystical control that’s exercised among the leaders.

The 5 fold offices of administration are supposed to help Jesus followers grow up into their new creation identity in Christ, not make them spotless enough for Jesus to return.

Colossians 1:22 but now He has reconciled in His body of flesh through death, to present you holy and unblemished and blameless before Him

Jesus presents you holy and unblemished to the Father, not your apostle.

You Have An Assignment

We need people to answer the call and take their assignments within the body of Christ seriously, but it must be from the perspective of family and unity rather than authority and power.

You are complete in Christ but God has an assignment for you. Do you know what it is? It’s not based on what you do really well, it’s based on who you love. Your assignment or your calling is made evident by who your heart has passion for. Whether that be widows, orphans, the homeless, single moms, pastors, bikers, politicians, children, etc… Jesus commands us to love one another, it only makes sense that your assignment is related to who you have love for.

I encourage you to spend some time answering the question, “who do you love?” Identify that people group and take action toward them, in whatever way the Holy Spirit leads.

Next week I will begin to talk about the specific gifts and help you become confident in the gifts God is seeking to work through you.

My series Why Am I Here? may be a helpful resource for you this week.

The Unknown Healer: Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “gifts of the spirit?” Do you get excited, do you feel pressure, do you want to walk in the gifts but don’t know how, do you feel like you’ve “been there done that,” do you feel like the gifts aren’t for today? Maybe something else?

I have some observations I’d like to share with you. Let’s start with the word “gift.”

Gifts/Graces of the Spirit

The word “gift” is the Greek word charisma. The root word is charis, which is the word for “grace.” Charisma is charis in action. This makes sense when you understand the true definition and function of GRACE.

Grace is unmerited favor but it also means “God’s divine influence in your heart.” Grace also means “capacity.” The idea is this, God will empower you in your inner man, otherwise known as your heart. He empowers you to do things that only His spirit is able to do, things you can not do in your own strength. Things like live holy, heal people, function as a prophet, be righteous, all of which are empowerments (gifts) of His spirit. But who can operate in which gift?

When I think of the gifts/graces, I think about a guy I call the unknown healer.

The Unknown Healer

You can read about this guy in Luke 9:49-50. This person is mentioned after Jesus sent out the original 12 apostles with power to cast out demons and heal people but before he sent out the 70 disciples 2 by 2.. The Apostle John has an interesting experience with “the unknown healer.”

John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

Who is this guy? He must have heard that Jesus gave His followers power and decided it was for him too. He took that for himself and jumped out there on his own. I find this seemingly insignificant story incredibly encouraging. He wasn’t part or the 12, he wasn’t part of the 70, but he decided that God’s power could work through him too.

Do you know who he is? I’ll tell you, he’s YOU!! Yes, you!! You’re the unknown healer. You’re the unnamed Jesus follower that can take God’s power and run with it. If you have His spirit, you can yield to His influence and be empowered to express His power. The fact the he is unnamed, and not formally sent out by Jesus tells me that anyone who chooses to minister in the authority of Jesus can do so, and Jesus is cool with it.

What about John’s response?

John, the self-professed “disciple whom Jesus loved,” the guy who reclined on Jesus’ chest, the author of the Gospel about God’s love. John told the unknown healer to STOP. Notice John’s reason, “because he follows not with us.”

He doesn’t go to our church, he didn’t go through our supernatural school, he doesn’t know our culture, he doesn’t have proper exegesis, he’s not one of the elect, he reads from the wrong translation of the Bible, etc… John tries to stop a man who has taken Christ’s mandate to set people free from demonic oppression and disease, because he was not part of his tribe.

This is “religion” at its worst. Our churches are full of this kind of division today. We disqualify people all the time because they “don’t follow with us.” Jesus said, “don’t tell him to stop, if he’s not against me he’s for me.” That’s as wide open as it gets, that’s freedom! It takes a secure leader to offer that kind of freedom. I understand the importance of everything being done decently and in order, but Jesus didn’t try to control people, He gave them power and set them free.

Jesus didn’t say, go get him and make sure he knows all the Law and Prophets. He didn’t say, bring him to me so I can make sure he’s interpreting the Bible properly. Jesus didn’t say, he needs to go through my training to be qualified. Jesus didn’t even ask the guy’s name, he told his followers to leave the guy alone. Jesus knew a secret, the Holy Spirit will teach the unknown healer to minister as he goes.

There Is Only One Anointing

Have you heard about the prophetic anointing, or apostolic anointing? The problem is, there is no such thing. There’s one anointing, that’s the indwelling of God’s spirit.

He places His spirit in you and it abides. His spirit will then move through you and empower you in different ways, which some people refer to as “anointing,” but that’s actually not scriptural. If you have God’s spirit, you are anointed, period.

1 John 2:27 And as for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But just as His true and genuine anointing teaches you about all things, so remain in Him as you have been taught.

To anoint with oil, you smear the oil on the person. The way God anoints is by smearing or spreading His spirit within you, and that smearing remains. If you have His spirit, you have been anointed by God. That indwelling spirit will then empower you in different ways. Paul’s audience would have understood this to mean, there is ONE anointing. As you read this passage from 1 Corinthians 12, notice how careful Paul is to express the point that there’s one spirit and that one spirit has different capacities.

1 CORINTHIANS 12:4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the SAME SPIRIT; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the SAME LORD; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the SAME GOD who empowers them all in everyone. 

Same spirit, same Lord, same God. You can also say, same anointing. There are no different anointings because there is only one spirit. Now that he’s made it clear that’s there’s one anointing, he describes how that one spirit empowers different kinds of gifts in people.

The word “given” means empowered or endued. The idea is that God empowers people to walk in these graces or gifts. The word gift is not to be understood as a stand alone package that one person gets while another person doesn’t. God’s spirit might empower one person to do something and another person to do another thing, but it’s the same anointing/spirit working the graces/gifts through everyone.

7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 ALL THESE ARE EMPOWERED BY ONE AND THE SAME SPIRIT (anointing), who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

God chooses which grace/gift he expresses through people. This is important because we’re all the same, all equal, all important members in God’s body. You don’t need to run to a “gifted” minister and have them lay hands on you to impart their anointing or gifts to you. You are complete in Christ, lacking nothing. As God is building His body in the earth, he needs you to yield to Him so He can express the power of His Gospel through you, you are an important part of His body!!

Impartation

I understand impartation in the same way I understand tuning an instrument with a tuning fork. Before digital devices, musicians would use tuning forks. You can strike a tuning fork and hold it next to a motionless string on a guitar and that string will begin to resonate the same frequency as the tuning fork. Another person who is yielding to God and allowing Him to empower a certain gift through them can lay hands on you and “tune you” to the frequency of that gift.

That person doesn’t give you something, they awaken something within you. It’s still God who decides which gifts work through people, but if you’re called to operate in a certain gift, another person who already operates in that gift can help you become tuned to that gift and flow in it.

If you have God’s spirit, you have all the gifts in you, but they need to be activated. Another person can help you activate them or you can simply yield your heart to God and allow Him to empowerment you.

How Do I Do It?

You might wonder how to actually express the gift. Here’s the truth, you probably already operate in that gift, you’re just not intentional about it and you may not be confident in it. The best way to become confident is to minister to people. Get around some people and pay attention to what happens inside you. Connect to love for those people and do what the spirit leads you to do. By the way, you hear God better than you think, you have a new heart that knows His voice.

Fall In Love with People

After Paul goes into great detail about the gifts, he ends chapter 12 by saying, “I will show you a more excellent way.” He’s still talking about God empowering people to walk in his abilities, but he begins to frame it with love. He says all that stuff is pretty much worthless without love. He makes the bold statement, LOVE NEVER FAILS.

Here’s the bottom line. If you love people, genuinely have compassion for them, God will help you bless them. God will teach you in the moment what to say and do. He might want to give them a promise from His Word through you, He might want to help them understand which decision to make, He might want to heal them, He might want to call them into a specific office in the body of Christ, it can be all kinds of things. And He can do all of those things through you because you have His spirit within you. You are anointed, in fact, you are as anointed as Jesus!

The question is, will you lay aside your ego and fear of man, and act on the compassion that arises in your heart for that person?

Try This

The Holy Spirit will teach you as you go. Each day when you go about your life, see if you can connect to love for people in your heart. See if you can look at people and have compassion for them. I don’t mean feel sorry for them, but feel compassion for them as describes in 1 Corinthians 13. Fall in love with people. It may be just an emotion or feeling at first but it may also turn into an action. Be sure to stick to healthy boundaries, don’t create codependency or do their part for them, but love them, in real ways.

In the coming weeks I’ll discuss the specific gifts in more detail, but start with being willing to allow love to rise up in your heart for everyone around you.

Also review last week’s blog for more on this topic.

A Condemnation-Free Heart Has Great Faith

Would you like a formula to develop great faith? The kind of faith sees the manifestation of everything you ask for?

The truth is, there is no formula, but there are some necessary ingredients to great faith. #1 key ingredient to developing great faith is to live a life where your heart doesn’t condemn you. #2 is to keep Christ’s commandments. #3 is to ACT on that commandment to love people.

Before you think I’m presenting a legalistic formula that’s based on performance, keep reading, I’m actually talking about what’s going on in your heart and how to develop confidence toward God.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. 19 And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things. 21 Beloved, IF OUR HEARTS DO NOT CONDEMN US, WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD, 22 AND WE RECEIVE FROM HIM WHATEVER WE ASK, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.

How do you get your heart to stop condemning you?
You keep His commandments.

Which commandments?
Love God and love people.

How do you love God?
We love Him because he first loved us. Our love for Him is a response.

So the proper way to love God is by responding to His love for you. What does that look like? You acknowledge Him for who He is in all His authority and majesty, AND you walk in love toward people.

That’s the “formula.” Respond to God’s love for you in such a way that your heart stops condemning you and then allow that love to spill onto others from your own heart.

A Heart that Condemns

If you follow John’s logic you’ll see that a heart that’s free from self-condemnation is so receptive to God that is receives whatever it asks. This kind of heart will only ask for things that God wants for you so it will not ask amiss and therefore will always receive what it asks for.

Earlier in his letter, John walks us through the basic concept that God is love, in Him is no darkness, and since we’ve been forgiven and now belong to God, we should also walk in the light, turning our back on sin.

A heart that is allowing God to abide within it and influence it will not choose sin, therefore will not experience self-condemnation.

This is not a reference to salvation, it’s a reference to the person who keeps their heart free from self-condemnation. We already know there’s no condemnation (from God) for those who are in Christ, but there may be condemnation from SELF in the heart of one who is in Christ.

Walking in the light, free from the lure of sin doesn’t cause God to give you what you ask for, it causes your heart to be confident toward God, therefore able to receive what God has actually already given you in Christ. His spirit is in you and that spirit contains everything you’ll ever need; all the wisdom, instruction, provision, blessing, grace and power you’ll ever need in this earth.

The reason to walk in the light rather than in sin and darkness is to keep your heart condemnation free. God isn’t condemning you, you are. To John, the truest way to ensure a condemnation-free heart is to love God (respond to His love) and love people. Loving God, responding to His love for you, and letting that love spill out to others develops great confidence within, such confidence that it ceases to limit God and allows God’s influence to meet every need.

He already knows what you need, when your heart doesn’t condemn you, you will ask for the things He knows you need. You will also be sensitive enough to ask for the things He wants you to desire.

What Does He Want You To Desire?

God wants you to desire His will for you and good things for others. God wants you to desire to see His healing and transformative love restore and rescue others from darkness.

When your heart is condemnation-free, you will allow His love for others to flow through you. Conversely, if you want God’s power to flow through you toward others, begin to intentionally love people. If you want to see your needs met and see the manifestation of “all that you ask of God,” fall in love with people…and ACT ON THAT LOVE. Acting on God inspired love for others teaches your heart to be confident toward Him.

Keeping His Commandments

Keeping Christ’s commandments develops a confidence toward God that causes you to see the manifestation of “all that you ask of God.” That promise is so powerful I can’t stop myself from repeating it. Keeping the rules doesn’t make God happy enough to give you what you’re asking for, that’s not what John is saying. He’s saying this, as you respond to and experience God’s love for you, you will love Him, honor and worship Him, which will cause you to love others, which causes you to live condemnation free, which results in great faith/confidence toward God. AND THEN, this kind of transformed, God soaked heart, naturally and effortlessly desires the things God desires for you.

How to Experience God’s Love

Try this, develop a daily habit of meditating on God’s love for you. Here are a few things to meditate on that have to do with God’s love for you:

• Because your sins have been forgiven through His name.

• Because you know Him who is from the beginning.

• Because you have overcome the evil one.

• Because you know the Father.

• Because you know Him who is from the beginning.

• Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

These are from 1 John 2:12-14. Don’t confess these to make them true, confess them because they ARE true! Make sure you meditate on each one until actually feel the associated emotions. I’d love to hear you describe what each of these feel like for you.

There are so many passages to pull from, share your favorite passage or “method” that helps you experience and solidify God’s love for you in your heart.

Your Place in the Body of Christ

This article is the first in a series about developing confidence in the heart to see the manifestation of all that you ask of God. I will continue this series for a few weeks. Next week I will discuss how walking in the graces/gifts of the spirit fit in to developing confidence. Stay tuned! Subscribe below to make sure you get all my emails.

Why Isn't Everyone Healed? The Answer May Offend You.

If Jesus paid for it, it’s yours now. If it’s a promise that is included in Christ’s atoning work, it’s yours now. If it’s a promise that Jesus solidified at the time of his death, burial, resurrection and ascension, it’s yours now, 100% of the time.

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20

Here are 4 questions we can ask to help us determine if a promise is part of Christ’s atoning work, therefore available all the time…

1. Is the promise consistent with God’s revealed character and attributes?

2. Did Jesus display his will for the promise in his earthly ministry?

3. Is it evidenced in the definition of salvation?

4. Is it scriptural?

Is Healing Always God’s Will?

God’s promises that are available in Christ are various and plentiful, touching on just about every aspect of life. He makes promises for salvation, provision, guidance, peace, health, and much more, I am going to use the example of health and healing in this article. The availability and application of the promises in Christ are universal. As I discuss health and healing, think about which promise relates to you and your current situation.

All believers believe that God can heal. All Jesus followers agree that Jesus healed people. But we disagree on whether God always wants everyone fully healed.

Have you prayed for multiple people and seen some healed but others not, why does that happen? There are only two stories in the New Testament that address the “why.”

When Jesus Could Not Heal People

There was a time when Jesus went to his hometown and he could not heal people like he did in other towns. Some theologians say he refused to heal people due to their lack of honor, but he did heal some people , so that theory falls flat. The truth is more offensive. Let’s look at this story in Mark and Matthew.

Mark 6:1 Jesus went on from there and came to His hometown, accompanied by His disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked. “What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him. 4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is without honor only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household.” 5 So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He went around from village to village, teaching the people.

Now the same story from Matthew’s perspective…

Matthew 13:54 Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.” 58 And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.

Because they were familiar with Jesus, their carnal thinking led them to be offended at Jesus and limit his power in their lives. Carnal thinking isn’t necessarily sinful or evil thinking, it’s just limited thinking. Carnal thinking only looks at what it can observe physically. Carnal thinking is only open to what logically makes sense to the physical mind. They limited the power of Jesus by limiting his identity in their hearts and minds. The healing power Jesus normally displayed was limited in the lives of the people that did not accept him for who he was.

Because they didn’t accept him for who he was, (God in human form, a prophet of God) they were not able to receive healing from him. Their carnal thinking led to offense, which led to unbelief, which limited his power.

Unbelief in the heart of a human can limit God’s power.

God is certainly more powerful than anyone or anything, but he chose to give mankind dominion over the earth and sovereignty over their own lives, therefore limiting himself to our faith. We have the responsibility to believe and trust God. When we don’t, we will not allow his power to work in and through us.

To sum up this story, it is possible for God to want to do something for and through you but you don’t allow it because of your unbelief. Your unbelief is not stronger than God, he just created you in a way where you must come into agreement with him and allow him to work in and through you. God will not violate your will and the beliefs of your heart.

When the Disciples Could Not Heal People

Have you ever asked, “why didn’t they get healed after prayer?” or “why did one person get healed but the other person didn’t?” Let’s look at the second place in scripture where those very questions are answered…by Jesus.

Matthew 17:14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and knelt before Him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.” 17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. 19 Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 20 “Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Now from Mark’s perspective…

Mark 9:17 Someone in the crowd replied, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.” SKIP TO VERSE 28 After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 Jesus answered, “This kind cannot come out, except by prayer.”

Side note, most original manuscripts leave out “and fasting.” But that’s beside the point of this article.

Let me sum up this story. A man had a son who had seizures, he took his son to Jesus’ disciples but they couldn’t heal him. When the disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t heal the boy, he told them it was because of their unbelief. That’s the end of the story, they couldn’t heal the boy because they had little faith.

WOW!! Are you offended yet?

Unbelief Limits the Power of God

When the folks in Jesus’ hometown could not receive healing from him he said it was because of their unbelief. When the disciples could not heal a believing boy, Jesus said it was because of the disciples unbelief.

We should be able to just stop there and take Jesus at his word, but we don’t. We feel the need to add more to his explanation. We add more because it’s hard to accept that we aren’t healed because of our unbelief. It may be even harder to accept that someone you love that died couldn’t receive healing from Jesus because of their unbelief. But that’s exactly the answer that Jesus gives.

He does go on to say that “this kind” comes out by prayer (and fasting). But “this kind” of what? Some folks say he’s talking about “this kind” of demon. But the context is unbelief, not demons. What he’s saying is this, the kind of unbelief that limits healing only comes out through prayer (and fasting).

You don’t gain power over higher classes of demons because you fast, that’s charismatic mumbo jumbo, that’s just made up. When you fast and pray, you might walk in more confidence, which looks like more power, but that’s a deception. Jesus stripped all entities of authority and he shares his authority with you, you don’t need to fast for more power, but you might need to pray and fast to become more confidence. God doesn’t give you more faith for praying, your heart just becomes more confident in him when you take time to persuade your heart of his identity.

Do You Need More Faith?

When you tell someone they aren’t healed because of their little faith, or their loved one wasn’t healed because of their little faith, you’re probably going to offend them, even though it’s true.

Let me clarify, the difference between great faith and little faith is confidence in Jesus. Faith is not a commodity, it’s not a thing you can get more of, it’s a depth of confidence in the heart of the receiver. Some folks are just more convinced of the healing power of Jesus than others.

I’ve told people this and they responded by telling me how much their loved one prayed, how spiritual they were, how much they went to church and how godly of a person they were. I’m sorry to say none of those things determine the depth of confidence in their heart toward God.

If you want great faith, become more convinced that God is who he says he is. God is not withholding healing from some folks and freely giving it to others. God doesn’t regulate what Jesus paid for to timing. You’ve heard it said that “it may not be God’s timing yet” as an explanation for why someone isn’t healed. The truth is this, if Jesus paid for it, it’s yours now. Healing is a promise Jesus paid for in his exchange on the cross.

We must allow ourselves to let the Word of God speak for itself without adding to it or becoming offended by it.

Conclusion

Consider these points…

1. God defines himself as a healer (Jehovah Rophe).

2. In the beginning, God placed mankind in a perfect garden with perfect health.

3. God will restore all things and place us in an eternal place of perfection with no sickness or disease.

4. Jesus came to earth between Eden and Heaven and healed people.

5. Jesus was the exact representation of the invisible God.

Healing is what God wants for you, it’s clear through his sovereign acts of creation, eternity and his time as a human.

The reason we are not walking in health and healing has alot to do with the fallen world but Jesus very clearly tells us that we are not healed, and are not healing other people, because of our unbelief.

Yes, I do realize how offensive that is. I do realize that seems black and white, but if you’ll go back and read this article again, you’ll not find my opinions, you’ll find my commentary on the words and explanations of Jesus on the subject of healing and when it doesn’t happen.

That leaves us with this, we need to pray in such a way that builds faith. Our prayer life should remove doubt and unbelief from our hearts. When we believe and doubt not, all things are possible, especially if Jesus paid for it on the cross.

Here’s an example prayer that can remove doubt and build trust toward God…

Father, I thank you that you love me. I acknowledge that you are a healer. You showed me through the life of Jesus that you are willing to heal those who believe. I am willing to believe you. I believe you want me healed. I yield my heart to you. I may not understand why I’m not healed, but it doesn’t matter, because I believe you are a healer. I believe Jesus paid for my spiritual, emotional AND physical healing, my healing is in the spilled blood of Jesus and the stripes on his back. Father, I trust you, I thank you that your spirit is in me, bringing life to my physical body. No matter what I feel or see in my body, I believe you want me healed and your spirit is helping my body become whole and healed. Thank you for loving me, I trust you…I pray this in the power and authority of Jesus.