Recently I have been back doing some simple ministry at a new church - it's a safe place with some folks that love me. That's a real change from the last few years. Thank you Jesus.
In the process, I am beginning to experience personal revival - yes - even yours truly needs to press in. Hanging onto our faith; the substance of which is the power of God to work through us to accomplish Kingdom objectives, is not enough. I have been studying, reading, and worshipping. I was before, but I seem to be connecting with God better. In the process I have uncovered few things that make some sense to me now.
The first is healing prayer. Luke 5:31 Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. If you take even a few moments to look over your own life, there is going to be some soul sickness there. There will be wounds, curses will have been spoken over us, and in the worst cases demon possession.
I realize that getting "well" is an ongoing process, and sanctification takes time. What I have noticed is that spiritual health is a blend of truth which we put into action, divine intervention; both sovereignly and through prayer, and confession of our sins one to another.
Here are some areas that we can address in order to have greater spiritual health. It is unlikely that we will have any success without surrounding ourselves with others that can minister to these areas in our lives.
- Sin: There is nothing that can replace heart felt confession. The greatest healing we can have is to confess our sins to God and another; getting relief from guilt and shame. Peter says that in that alone we will be healed.
- Appropriating Truth: Is your life stressed out or filled with worry? What keeps you from apprehending the truth of a verse like this: Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." We have to partner with God to mature into a faith that believes His word and maturity that puts it into action.
- Functioning Relationships: We cannot be lone rangers. Without loving relationships, we will have trouble relating to God. He has given us each other, and spiritual gifts, as well as limitations so that we will minister to, and need each other in the body.
- Purpose: We need to have desires and a purpose that is from God. The American dream is not a biblical reality. There are many Christians throughout the world that do not have a family with children, a house with a white picket fence, and 2 cars in the driveway. On a good day our "lot" in life is only a small part of our purpose here on earth. True purpose comes from being valued by God, and understanding His destiny for our lives and being obedient to follow His will. Letting go of our own ideas is the hard part.
- Curses/Possession: You cannot counsel out generational curses or demons. It is a purely spiritual matter. I am not sure that one can even do it on his own. I do know that getting free of oppression, and possession is through prayer. There are lots of ways this stuff manifests in our lives. Some we bring on ourselves by dabbling in various forms of the occult, and some is brought on by simply being the next generation. Addiction, divorce, hereditary physical ailments - it is all under God control, and can be stopped in its tracks with prayer.
- Healing Prayer: It is essential that we recognize our need and get with folks that can help us get free of the "fleshy" things that keep the "old man" from dying. Our "new man" is perfect, and waiting to be fully released!
How about you, do you feel spiritually healthy, and free of bondage?
2 comments:
I agree brother that church CAN be effective in people's lives if the church is focused on serving God. Too often, the mission for the Kingdom is lost in selfish, narcissistic behaviors.
Confession is crucial for revival too. Broad sweeping confessions of 'forgive me for my sins' or 'forgive me where I fail you' are generic and worthless. God sees each and every sin, and until we see them in our lives and confess each one to Him...you've got an albatross necklace my friend.
Just a few Sundays ago, my pastor challenged the congregation in a 'double, dog dare' (serious stuff) to write down specific sins that needed repentance. Not 'forgive me for lying' but i.e. 'forgive me for telling Candice _________ which was a lie.'
Talk about revival! Looking at my list quickly reminded me how much I need God daily in my life.
Spiritually I think I am ok. I put my trust in the Lord to lead me in what I should do and let Him handle a crisis that pops up in my life. Lately there have been many in this community I live in but He seems to have control of that.
The one thing I have problems with is being in a church environment the way God wants us to be. I find it hard to open up or even try after my recent experiences at one particular church so I just avoid the physical contact but yet continue on in my faith by praying, reading scriptures, and tending to others in need in my community.
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