Rick Joyner on Lakeland and Heritage Outpouring

Rick Joyner has published a series of newsletters concerning the recent events in Lakeland Florida and at Heritage in Rock Hill SC. They give a great perspective from someone who has studied past revivals and moves of God. There are 3 parts (so far):

Part 1: http://www.morningstarministries.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000031456
Part 2: http://www.morningstarministries.org/Publisher/article.aspx?id=1000031549
Part 3: http://www.morningstarministries.org/Publisher/article.aspx?id=1000031954


I will be attending a 3-day conference on healing at Heritage next week. Bill Johnson is scheduled to be the key speaker. Should be fabulous considering what is going on down there right now.

J

Christ the Healer - Part 2

I've long believed that God does heal and have heard many testimonies of this. Even as a child, I remember praying for my own healing for various colds and ailments. As I said in my last post, I think most Christians believe God can heal, I'm just not sure most believe He is willing to heal - every time.

Where does this mentality come from? One place that it comes from is our experience. When our experience does not line up with our doctrine, we tend to change our doctrine rather than demand an experience from our doctrine (thanks Bill). I'm not suggesting that we live in denial or that we should always understand every situation - I just think we should keep swinging. I once saw Joan Fitzgerald pray for a friend in a wheelchair - he was not instantly healed. Did she stop praying for the rest of the crowd around her? Nope. She didn't make any excuses or try to explain why he wasn't walking, she just simply moved on to the next person and kept praying. Just a few people down the line, was a girl with hearing problems. Her ears were instantly opened. I talked with her mother weeks later - the healing was real and lasting. I'm sure she was glad that Joan kept swinging!

If you look through the gospels, you will see that many times Jesus healed ALL who were brought to Him. He refused no one.

What assurances do we have that healing is available to us and everyone around us - without exception? Isaiah 53:4-5 states:

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We like to do two things to this scripture:

1. Divide it into two pieces. We take the promise of forgiveness of our sins but leave the equally stated promise of healing of our sicknesses.


2. We tell ourselves that the healing mentioned is just spiritual, not physical.

Matthew 8:16-17 brings us the needed clarity:

When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."

Jesus bore our sicknesses just as He bore our sins. He came to redeem ALL that was lost. Healing is available to all who desire it - just as with salvation.

Healing Evangelists

I've been reading a lot lately about the healing evangelists of the 1950s. People like William Branham and Jack Coe. I ran across the God's Generals website and they have a great list of short video clips you can watch (here is a great one of Branham telling a lady her name and her address and healing her of cancer - another one of cancer falling off a lady's nose into the hand of Jack Coe). Some are more dramatic than others. Some you may look at with skepticism. I find that my skepticism is mostly rooted in how they present themselves or how their character may have faltered. So, I have to look past that and try to see what God was, and is, doing. John the Baptist certainly did not present himself well in animal skins - but he was a powerful vessel for God. King David was not without sin - but he was dear to God. These guys had faults and were human, but they also were obedient to what they felt God was calling them to do.

I wonder how many more are out there and have been disqualified either by others or by themselves for their shortcomings? We, like Paul exorted Timothy, must not receive a "spirit of timidity" but rather should "fan the flame of the gift" given to us. Paul said "I care very little if I am judged by you...indeed, I do not even judge myself" (I Cor. 4:3) What is he saying here? That we should not examine our lives and root out sin? Not quite - it is a matter of degree. He goes on to say "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me." In other words, he could examine himself to the extreme but still have sin that he has no knowledge of - therefore it is better to let the Holy Spirit reveal sin along the way. We have work to do, and we cannot make ourselves perfect, or expect others to be, before we do it.

Christ the Healer

I am currently reading F. F. Bosworth's "Christ the Healer". It has been eye-opening. If you have any interest in miracles and healing, this book is required reading. He makes a very convincing case for bodily healing being part of the atonement of Christ - that just as He bore our sin, He also bore our sicknesses. I am not through with it yet and will certainly be posting more about it later. But one thing I will say now, and this is something he addresses in the book, is that most people believe God can heal, but they are not convinced He is willing to heal them - and that is the sticking point.

What do you think? Is Christ always willing to heal?

J