This world is full of
problems of which people are desperate to find solutions. What few realize,
however, is that the answer is right under our noses! The God who created the
universe has a Name by which anything is possible! Look at how Paul describes Christ's
position:
For by him [Jesus] all
things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things
have been created through him, and for him. He is before all things, and in him
all things are held together. He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;that in all things he
might have the preeminence. For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him; and through
him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or
things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:16-20)
Yes, He is above all.
Above all of your needs and above all of your problems. Let's take a look at
some specific ways in which He can lead us to victory!
Jesus Christ: The Answer for Meeting your Needs
Therefore don't be anxious, saying, "What will we eat?",
"What will we drink?" or, "With what will we be clothed?"
For the Gentiles seek after all these things, for your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things. But seek first God's Kingdom, and his
righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore
don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each
day's own evil is sufficient. (Matthew 6:31-34)
This is a promise from
Jesus that if we seek God's kingdom, of which Jesus Christ is the head, He will supply our physical needs. Seeking first His
kingdom, however, does not merely mean "asking God for a cookie." It
means that following His commandments will be the single top priority in your
life. As Paul said, it involves making Him preeminent in all things.
I have been young, and
now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his children
begging for bread. (Psalm 37:25)
I've seen the same thing
today. I can't even count the number of times I've heard about families struggling
with impossible financial situations, but when they decided to put God first
and give to Him anyway, things somehow worked out.
If you read about
missionaries and their adventures with finances and basic needs such as food,
you'll likely see a trend. God tests their faith, but as they continue to seek
His kingdom first, He always comes through with what they need. Accounts like this can be seen
from the great missionaries such as George Mueller to the first time young
adult missionary with an organization such as Youth with a Mission.
As a missions worker
myself, I can confirm this. My story isn't as dramatic as some, but I am amazed
at how my financial needs have been met. During my support raising, it didn't
seem like I had many opportunities to share what I was doing. Everyone I talked
to said that their church was either only interested in supporting those from
their congregation or not terribly enthusiastic about missions in general.
However, somehow, the finances that I needed came through, and now I am
reasonably well supplied.
Jesus Christ: The Answer to Physical sickness
Jesus healed people when
He was physically on the earth because He had compassion on them and because He
wanted to prove Himself. Nothing has changed; the same is true today. He still
has compassion on the suffering and He still wants to confirm that He is God.
The first indication of
Jesus' healing ability comes to us through one of the great Messianic chapters
in the Old Testament:
But he was pierced for
our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that
brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
As surely as His
separation from God through death made it possible for us to be made right with
God, the wounds He received made it possible for us to receive physical
healing. This will be universally true in heaven, the New Creation. Every
single sickness and physical deformity a follower of Christ has on earth will
be completely gone after he or she passes into His presence.
However, it goes beyond
that. Christ's death makes it possible for us to be right with God by faith today, His suffering allows us to receive physical
healing by faith today.
Before I continue, I
should say that we cannot expect every single request for physical healing to
be granted. God is completely sovereign, and His plan is different than ours.
It should also be realized that death is a part of His normal plan for humans,
as a way of taking us to be with Him. For that reason, we would not want Him to heal us every time!
However, healing
certainly does happen today. Let's take a look at a few relevant Scriptures:
Is any among you sick?
Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over
him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will heal him who
is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess
your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The
insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective. (James 5:14-16)
Here is a pretty broad
recipe for healing. We are to confess our sins and pray for each other. Calling
for the leaders of the church and anointing with oil may help, but that is not
a consistent requirement for healing in other relevant Scripture.
Ananias departed, and
entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, "Brother Saul,
the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, that
you may receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his
sight. He arose and was baptized. (Acts 9:17-18)
It should be noted that
Ananias was likely not a leader in the church. At least there is no Biblical
evidence that he was. He was a man like us, but who was obedient to God's call.
The healing of Saul's eyes was accomplished through the laying on of hands.
Most certainly I tell
you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will
do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. (John 14:12)
He said to them,
"Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation. He
who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be
condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will
cast out demons; they will speak with new languages; they will take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will
lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:15-18)
Here are two pretty
clear statements of Jesus saying that anyone who believes should be able to see divine healing miracles.
Here is a somewhat startling observation by Jack Deere, in his excellent book Surprised by the Power of the Spirit:
Most of the people I
talk with who have never seen a miracle are people, by and large, who never
take the trouble to go and lay their hands on sick people in believing prayer.
Conversely, I have yet to find anyone who regularly lays hands on the sick in
believing prayer who doesn't see at least some miraculous healing.
Are you laying hands on the sick in believing prayer? It
was pretty important to the early church:
Therefore leaving the
teaching of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection --
not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward
God, of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal
judgment. (Hebrews 6:1-2)
Here we find evidence
that the laying on of hands, presumably for healing, was a basic,
fundamental teaching of the early church -- right along with baptism and eternal life!
Does anyone else get the impression that most of our modern churches have
drifted from this somewhat?
Here's one interesting
example that I have personally seen. I had a college friend who suffered from
Attention Deficit Disorder. We were in the same accounting class, and he was
failing miserably, despite hiring tutors and trying very hard. We were also in
the same cell group and worked in the same office. In the cell group we layed
hands on him and prayed for healing from ADD several times. Nothing appeared to
happen. Then one night we were both in the office. He was working on accounting
and I was in the next cubicle working on a computer project for the school. All
of a sudden I hear "Yeeehaaaaaa Micah, I'm healed!" I don't know exactly
what happened, but apparently there was a near-instantaneous change. I do know
that he did a lot better in accounting from then on, and even went on to the
next semester!
So don't give up. The
Bible is clear that God honors persistence.
By Micah Yoder; 11/11/2004
Pastor Rolando Ramos
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