Which is easier?

     "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'? But so you know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"- He said to the paralytic," I say to you, get up pick up your pallet and go home."
     Mark 2:9-11 NASB.

     The scriptures are consistent throughout. God healed then, and is more than willing to heal today. This passage of scripture reveals that when it comes down to crunch time, faith is often superficial. It is not so much the quantity of faith that receives the answer, but the quality. True faith stands the test!

What if Jesus came to your church?

And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart from their borders.
God; ASV (2011-07-15). Holy Bible, American Standard Version (ASV) (Kindle Locations 29044-29045). Latus ePublishing. Kindle Edition.


     In the context of this verse, Jesus had just cast the demons out of two posessed men. The people feared these men, and had kept them in chains. Now these men were in their right minds. When the domons left the men, Jesus permited them to enter a herd of pigs, which then rushed into the sea.
     This caused a great deal of distress among the local inhabitants. Instead of rejoicing with the two men who had just been delivered, the people instead were very uncomfortable with what just occured. Perhaps they were upset about the pigs. Maybe they were uncomfortable about the deliverance of the demon posessed men. At any rate, the were uncomfortable with Jesus, and asked Him to leave.
     Sadly, we too can become complacent in our Christian experience. We like how church is done, we like how our lives are lived, we think everything is fine, and we want it to stay that way. We want things to go smooth, no excitement, no conviction, no upsetting visitors on Sunday,etc.
     What would happen if Jesus showed up during prayer time, and people were instantly, and miraculously healed of all manner of diseases? Would it make us nervous? Would we be uncomfortable? what would happen if people were suddenly filled with conviction, conviction so deep that some fell from their seats onto the floor where they lay weeping and crying out to God?  What would happen if some went forward and made public confession of sin? We never see this happen, but if you read about the great revivals of the past, it was a frequent occurence. My Father in law told of a pastor who announced to his congregation one Sunday, that he had been saved that weekend. His church promptly dismissed him! They were more comfortable with an unsaved pastor!
     The fact is, that when Jesus comes to church, things happen, changes occur, we are taken out of our comfort zones. The things that Jesus taught, the things that Jesus did,  are taught, and done. People are convicted of sin, people are healed of disease, people are set free from demons, people are set free from sin.
     Pigs are presented as unclean in the Bible. We may have unclean things in our lives that we hang onto, things that we do not want to see go. If Jesus were present, we know that like the pigs rushing into the sea, these things would have to go as well. It may be unbelief, sin, or worthless tradition, but it would have to go.
     Jesus came to give us abundant life. He came to destroy the work of the devil. He came to set the captives free. Let Him have His way with you.

Greater works.

     Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father.
    John 14:12 (RSV).

     This is one of those verses in scripture that we as pentecostals affirm. We believe that the God who worked miracles in the past is the same today. We believe that he still heals, and we believe that He still works through spiritual gifts to build up the church. This is one of those verses that will get a hearty amen everytime it is quoted in a church that believes these things.
     However it is one thing to give a mental assent to these things as being true, and quite another to experience them. The verse quoted states that he who believes will do the works Christ did, even greater works. In Mark 16:17 we read that signs will follow those who believe. True biblical belief involves taking up the cause of Christ. It is an identification with Him and His will. It involves the giving up of ourselves, our plans and agendas, and surrendering ourselves to Him completely. Christ has ascended to the Father and the Holy Spirit has been given to the church. As we are emptied of self, and filled with the Spirit the greater works will flow from our lives. No where do we find scriptural backing for theology that claims the age of miracles has passed. It is true that we are not to seek after signs and wonders, and it is also true that there are a lot of strange things being passed off as miracles. It is also true that God desires to heal the sick, convict the sinner, and work in and through His church with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Which is easier?

     Which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 
     Matt 9:5 (NASB)

     Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, annointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has commited sins, they will be forgiven him.
     James 5:14,15 (NASB)

     Jesus did the hard thing in Matthew 9 to show that He had the authority to forgive sin. He had just told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. It is easy to say your sins are forgiven, because there is no immediate visual evidence. It is quite another thing to say get up and walk, because an impossible action is then expected. When the crippled man got up and walked, it proved to everyone present that Jesus indeed had authority to forgive sin.
     I think that for most of us it is easy to believe that if we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful to forgive them. We have no problem accepting that by faith. Many of us have grown up in church hearing this truth all of our lives. Faith for healing is quite a different matter. It is easy to believe that God can heal, but when it comes to the crisis point it is hard to believe that God will actually heal. We may pray, or even be annointed and prayed for, as in James 5, all the while expecting nothing to really happen.
     Faith is not a lever that somehow budges God. We cannot drum up faith in the attempt to impress Him into action. Faith is not something that we use to get whatever we want from God. Faith is taking God at His word. It is hearing what He says in His word and believing Him. God does not and cannot lie. It is up to us to simply believe what He says.
     Although I have seen people healed, far too often nothing happens. I think this is a common thing, but it should not be so. We tend to explain it away with a variety of reasons and biblical interpretations, and as a result do much damage to the doctrine of divine healing. The word of God is clear on this subject. God is willing to heal. People were healed consistently throughout the bible, as they came to Him in faith.
     In Mark 9: 17-29 the disciples fail to cast a demon out of a boy. We can learn several things from this passage.  In Jesus' own words this was an unbelieving generation. In Matthew 13:58 we see that unbelief prevented Jesus from performing miracles. The people of that day were religious, but failed to take God seriously. They were too familiar with Jesus. He had grown up among them, where did His power come from? How can He claim to be the Messiah? They took offense at Him. Is it possible that we today can become so comfortable with our theology, and so familiar with the Jesus that we see in our churches, that we too become filled with unbelief?
     Jesus also told the disciples that prayer was necessary (Mark 9:39). Jesus gave us an example to follow. He often got up early and got away from everbody to spend long times in prayer. We tend to wait until a need arises and then spend time in prayer for that need. Instead we should be already spending time in prayer to God, just seeking Him. When a need arises, we would be prayed up and ready.
     The subject of miracles and healings is difficult. As I said we often see no miraculous results to our prayers. There are a variety of biblical reasons for the lack of healing, but I still think that we are not experiencing all that God intends for us to have in Christ. This can be a subject to pursue in future posts.