Jesus Worhsip

Jesus Christ and Physical Healing

If you’ve lived at all as a Christian for any significant amount of time you know there are many times that prayer for healing is needed. We get sick for whatever reason. Sometimes the reason is genetic, other times it is environmental, other times dietary, other times it’s brought about by terrible medical treatment. Other times it’s brought about intentionally by war. And other times it’s just old age and our time in the flesh is up.

But what about an average young healthy Christian who suffers from an illness? They pray and pray yet stay sick.

How can that be reconciled with Jesus Christ who apparently never turned people down when asking for healing?

This post will attempt to answer this question.

I’ve been part of church movements that taught we just need more faith to get our healing. It belongs to us and it’s there to take by faith. When we would teach this we would define faith as “confident expectation in the promises of God.”

But having more confident expectation in Gods promises is not what it takes to receive physical healing that doesn’t seem to come. Or at minimum it’s not something we can turn off and on internally by effort and trying to.

To think this way is to underestimate Jesus Christ himself. My expectations surrounding Gods promises are not enough. For example; I genuinely and confidently expect, based on bible verses, God to heal my relative that I pray with to receive healing, and he dies anyhow.

How great is my discouragement and disillusionment when this happens.

What I think we misunderstand is that Jesus Christ is not only the promisor but he is also and more importantly the doing itself of the healing. It’s not a matter of him just doing it already…as much as it is a matter of seeking him personally with constant pursuit. Then following him however and wherever he leads us daily.

I know what it’s like to seek healing for extended periods. We get into a rut wondering why it never seems to happen so we start to obsess over it, I know I have done that.

Sometimes the answer for healing is something simple that we need to do or stop doing. We must hear him for instruction, if we are being stubborn and will only accept a miracle and are not willing to change our lifestyle if he leads us to we probably won’t ever get healed.

Maybe he will lead you to something practical like a water fast which is powerful in healing or a major change in diet. Or maybe something else.

If we look closely we can see that people in the Bible were not just seeking him to heal them …because they were seeking him individually. It was easier to seek him then because he was physically present, but we cannot do that now so we pray and it’s all by faith. It’s all spiritual and we must hear and see in the spirit that affects the physical.

We must be constantly just seeking him, to know him, to understand him, that alone will heal.

Also furthermore:

Seeking breakthrough from our problems (even if Jesus is the supply of it) is not the same as seeking first the kingdom. Therefore it’s a major distraction from him.

For example group singing at church can be a lot like group praying. Recently in a Christian meeting at a church we were singing together several beautiful Jesus songs. Then casually, with little notice, with just as beautiful tempos and the same exact great looking stage crew, we started singing about receiving breakthrough and seeing miracles.

The song itself was about us getting breakthrough. Feeling the need to sing that way or pray that way is evidence we barely understand Jesus Christ and the importance of pursuing him.

How We Meet

I’ve been attending church since I was about 19, or about 26 years now, over this time different pastors have had hugely positive impacts on me.

BUT as I grow older I am noticing a huge discrepancy. A discrepancy in how Christians met and acted in Acts, Paul’s letters, and gosples and in how we meet and act today.

Maybe there is a link…maybe there is a cause and effect!

I also have been reading books from people like Frank Viola, George Barna, Leonard Sweet, Neil Cole about the source of the traditions we practice in our church meetings.

I wont list all of the descrepencies between our traditions or where they came from here, if you are curious for more information about this start with the book Pagan Christianity? and Reimagining Church books, I will make the following statement and no more:

I believe that the weekly sermon, one “senior” pastor (our form of a local Christian king), idle pew-sitting audience-style weekly church service has crippled for generations, and is currently crippling the body of Jesus Christ in the earth. I call this the King-Sheep model, the pastor is the local king (like David) and the people behave like dumb passive sheep refusing to spiritually listen and think for themselves. Loyalty to the king is their currency and means of promotion.

The church (better translated the ecclesia) is the body of Jesus Christ.

Where we gather in his name, meaning we gather for him and him alone, he dwells within us. We are not to gather for self-help sermons, nor gather to get “fed”, nor gather at the church that best “meets our needs”. We gather for him, in our town, we gather to share him with one another, we gather to learn Jesus Christ. We gather to share Jesus Christ and his infinite unsearchable riches with one another, this is something we will do for all of eternity. Churches should be led by a team of elders, with pastors, evangelist, teachers, apostles, and prophets being on equal terms with all, the 5-fold ministry is a list of ministry gifts not authority titles.

Listen to this episode from the Insugence podcast.

I want to meet with other members of Christ’s body in this way. If you also want to meet in this way and you live in the upstate NY area comment below or email me at collierak@me.com.

1 Corinthians 14:24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

Meeting locations can be members homes, coffee houses, rented spaces, public places if available, libraries, parks, anywhere that works.

The closeness, love, pursuit of Christ and even friction that develops between people can satisfy better than a lifetime of sermons could dream to.

As the number of people in this meetings grows a few things can happen:

  • Elders (including pastors, evangelists, teachers) can be recognized and assigned based on obvious giftings, elders have authority only in issues of discipline, they are known for their maturity and are not to be looked upon as the leaders of the church, but as gifts to help the church.
  • Men and women can break up and meet separately at times but at other times we all meet together.
  • Visitors to these meetings saved and unsaved will be able to see God among us in action see 1 Cor 14:24-25 above, unlike with pew sitting.

The role of the pastor is first to train young believers to function within this type of meeting. To function within the body of Christ and to develop their gifts. This includes keeping order and peace in the meetings if necessary, making sure no one dominates or sits idle. There is no pressure of weekly sermons, of setting the vision for hundreds of people. There is no financial pressure of owning and building huge buildings.

The best thing about this way of meeting is that the Spirit is free to guide the meetings Himself rather than expecting that of a pastor. There is no “serve me” mentality in the people and no need for pastors to reward personal loyalty or big givers.

There can also be seasons of special prayer, seasons of intentional evangelism, seasons of special teachings and sermons, money can be pooled and distributed and used to bless ministries or families or whatever is agreed upon. Just like we see in scripture.

There is much more to say about this.

Jesus Christ Our Universe of Truth

When Jesus Christ encompasses our universe of truth and reality.

We can gradually begin to explain everything, nothing catches us off guard. No one can get one-over on us and we can’t be pulled into emotionally charged deception.

He has already been through the end of all things, he has already personally overseen the extinction of humanity. And he is managing personally the starting over of a new race of humanity along the lines of our original intent and purpose.

What can possibly upset him or cause him to panic? Nothing can …and no one will trick him into doing what they want him to.

Jesus is like an eternally large immovable mountain that our universe revolves around and is set upon and is held together by..

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