HomePhilem 1:6 that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (NKJV)
This is an awesome verse. It tells you exactly how to make the sharing of your faith effective: acknowledge every GOOD thing which is IN YOU in Christ Jesus. To know what is IN you in Christ Jesus, you need to look at the atonement. Do you know what was provided for in the atonement?
• Physical Healing (Isa 53:4-5, Matt 8:16-17, 1 Pet 2:24)
• Deliverance (Isa 53:4-5, Col 2:15, Mark 16:17)
• Salvation (Isa 53:4-5, Rom 1:16)
These verses show that God provided for the reconciliation of the total man through the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. As far as God is concerned, those things are a done deal in your life the moment you are reborn. When the FINISHED WORKS of the cross are made effective over your life by grace through faith, you received in you everything needed to live life free from sickness and oppression. God did His part perfectly. (I am not going to go into details about this now but you can look it up yourselves in verses like 2nd Peter 1:3-4, Eph 1:3, Heb 10:14, 1st John 4:17, 1st John 2:20, 1st John 2:27, Acts 1:8 and Matt 28:18-19) Basically, you lack nothing. Any other teaching is unscriptural and just a lie that keeps you busy looking for something you already have instead of using it and giving it away to those who need it.
Since God did everything He needed to do already, it means you can’t get Him to do something He has already done. No amount of begging or pleading or fasting or good deeds will move God to flip your miracle switch up in heaven. He has ALREADY flipped it! It is also not very wise to ask God to do something He told us to do. Yes, that’s right, you have a part to play.
2 Cor 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (NKJV)
God gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Healing is physical reconciliation. Deliverance is reconciliation of the soul. Salvation is spiritual reconciliation. Think about this: If God said He gave us the ministry of reconciliation, does that mean He thinks we can do it? YES!! This should be no-brainer yet the church seems to think God doesn’t know what He is talking about. Don’t get me wrong, I know I don’t heal, deliver or save because verse 19 says He committed to me the WORD OF RECONCILITATION. Since the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (soterio – save, heal, protect, deliver & make whole) it means when I speak gospel, when I speak the word of reconciliation, God can confirm His Word through me. If I don’t speak gospel, or if I speak my own opinion, God is under no obligation to confirm my word. When you speak gospel, you become the voice of God on the earth! The power is at work within you, you let it out by speaking it! (Rom 10:8)
Mark 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. (NKJV)
God worked WITH them confirming THE WORD and He will work WITH you confirming THE WORD. Not the person, not the church, not the ministry, not the opinion, not the tradition, not the performance, not the fasting, not the praying, THE WORD! When you mix opinion, performance, methods, fasting, holy living etc. with the Word, you are preaching a tradition of man which God has no obligation to confirm. I believe He sometimes does step in and help us out of pure mercy, but we will be so much more consistent and effective when we get ourselves and our own ideas out of the gospel and just present it in its pure form!
1 Cor 2:2 For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (NKJV)
That was Paul’s attitude. We need that attitude back in the body. The attitude I hear so often rather sounds like this, “Yes Jesus died, BUT you have to do this and that before He will do this and that.” That is not the gospel. There is no BUT in the gospel. That is not even God! God calls Himself “I AM THAT I AM”, not “I will that I will when you”. When you say, “Yes, Jesus died BUT…” to a person, you just pronounced a judgment on them and you placed them back under a conditional law of self performance to work for God’s approval. Stop judging and start setting free!
When somebody is sick, preach the gospel, then do the gospel: “By His stripes we were healed.” Lay hands, command sickness, symptoms and infirm spirits to leave. Command healing of the affected areas. Check for change, repeat if needed. Don’t back off, don’t give up!
When somebody is oppressed, preach the gospel, then do the gospel. “The principalities and power were defeated at the cross. Believers will cast out devils.” Command spirits to leave the person. Declare them free. Check for changes, repeat if needed. Don’t back off, don’t give up.
God gave you the tools and the Helper to HELP you so go help somebody!
Cornel
