---

What should we do to those things that cause us to sin?

---

Matthew 18.6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to sin cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

The consequences of sin are such that things that cause us to sin should be treated with utmost violence. This violence should of course be interpreted as spiritual in nature. While people can cause us to sin, the culprit is primarily our sinful nature. Through faith in Christ it is put to death, but it is able to come back to life to cause us to sin. It is especially difficult for our sinful nature to forgive those who sin against us.

Luke 17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 So watch yourselves.
“ If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

Sin in us, like a tree, can have deep roots. According to Hebrews 12:15, the sin of bitterness has roots. If we understand and have mountain-moving faith, we can command the sin or sin nature to be uprooted. Like a servant, it must obey us.

7 “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

Our sin nature is under our authority just like a servant is under the authority of his master. We are not to coddle or indulge our sinful nature. During the time of Jesus, masters did not spoil their servants, but treated them very strictly. In the way that a master gives stern commands to his servant, we are to command our sinful nature and put it under our total authority. We are to speak to our sinful nature with mountain-moving faith (or mulberry tree-moving faith) when it tempts us to sin, putting it to death in a spiritually violent manner. This is how we deal with the sin of unforgiveness in us, as well as our sin nature in general.

Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live…

Matt 18.18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

Just as we have authority to put to death our sinful nature, we also have authority over diseases and demons in the context of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. …6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. …9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Jesus exercised his authority over disease and demons not by praying to His Father but rather by giving authoritative commands directly to them. This is exactly how we disciples of Christ heal the sick and cast out demons.

In conclusion, the sinful nature, disease, and demons have certain things in common and are related. Because of Satan's temptation, original sin came into the world. And because of our sinful nature we are subject to disease. But Scripture says that disciples of Christ have authority over all three. We exercise this authority not simply through prayer but by sternly rebuking and commanding them in the name of Jesus Christ. As servants under our authority, they must obey us when we command them authoritatively and with mountain-moving faith.

 

 

---

The kingly anointing restored to the Church of Jesus Christ

---

No longer will the Church run in terror from the giants of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and witchcraft

1 Samuel 17:8 Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us.” 10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

In the same way, the Church of Jesus Christ is “dismayed and terrified” when confronted by the giants of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and witchcraft. Ultimately like ostriches we ignore the giants by retreating into our church sanctuaries to carry on our religious programs. In the meantime, mosques and temples are being built in our cities and backyards. However, the God of Heaven will not allow this to continue. He is restoring the Church, the Body of Bride of His Son Jesus Christ. Among other things, he is restoring the third anointing---the “kingly anointing”---to the Church.

1 Samuel 17:23 As he [David] was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 When the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.

….26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

David was the prototypical king in the Old Testament. He had a different spirit from the other Israelites. While the others ran from Goliath in great fear, David felt burning indignation in his spirit for his God, the true God who had been defied by someone who worshipped a pagan god. This is the kingly anointing.

45 …I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.

David recognized that his God would strike down the giant not directly from heaven, but through His human agent, one with the kingly anointing. This one would be bold and confident, with the ability and training to kill the enemy. Through those with the kingly anointing, God defeats His enemies on earth.

48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.

Those with the kingly anointing do not run in terror away from the giants, but run toward them to attack and slay them in the name of the Lord. The Lord is restoring this anointing to His Church for the end times and the fulfillment of the Great Commission. She will no longer cower before the giants. Rather, she boldly preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and animists. She demonstrates through far superior manifestations of power that her bridegroom Jesus Christ is the only way to the true God.

 

 

 

---

The corporate anointing of believers for miraculous healing

---

Isaiah 65:8 This is what the LORD says: “As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, ‘Don’t destroy it, there is yet some good in it,’ so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all.

Wine, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, is produced from grapes. A single grape may be of little use for making wine for drinking, but a cluster of grapes can yield sufficient juice to produce enough wine to satisfy a person’s thirst. In the same way, while an individual believer does have an anointing because Christ dwells in him, it may be limited in its effect when isolated. However when believers come together to minister, there is a corporate or “cluster” anointing that results in considerable supernatural power to destroy the works of the enemy kingdom.

Jesus gave authority to his disciples to heal the sick and cast out demons as they proclaimed the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:1-2 and Luke 10:1,9). Although each one of them as individuals received this authority, Jesus nevertheless sent the seventy disciples out two by two. When a group or congregation of believers comes together to minister healing in Christ’s name using this authority, the result can be miracles that bring much glory to the Lord. These results exceed what a single believer can do by himself or herself. In our meetings we often minister healing relying on the cluster anointing present among a group of believers.

This is a taste of the potential anointing on the united body of Christ.

Typically, there will be a number of believers with infirmities in a congregation or meeting. I will have these believers lay hands on themselves wherever they have the infirmity (Mark 16:18). At the same time I will lead the whole congregation in exercising their authority over the infirmities. Often I will have believers already trained in our Seminar to stand by my side so that together with once voice we will exercise our authority. Typically, Jesus commanded diseases to be healed and demons to leave using the authority He had received from the Father. In the same way, I lead the believers in the meeting to issue similar commands in Jesus’ name.

Then I ask the people to check whether or not they have been healed. Not all of the infirm people are healed; the miracles take place according to the Lord’s will and the level of faith and authority present. After a moment, those who in fact are healed through the mass healing come forth to testify what the Lord has done for them. We have witnessed some powerful miracles in such a fashion. Such miracles can help bring unbelievers present at the meeting to faith in Christ. Following the testimonies of miraculous healing I will immediately invite people to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. His authority to heal the infirm proves that He also has authority to forgive sin. Having heard the gospel shared very clearly and witnessed the confirming miracles, people typically respond very positively.

The cluster anointing among the believers results in miraculous healings that can be beyond the faith and authority of the single believer ministering alone in an individual setting. This is indicative of the anointing upon the body of Christ as inferred in the first two verses of the 133rd Psalm…

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.

Aaron was the prototypical high priest, a type of Jesus Christ who is our Great High Priest. Aaron’s “whole body,” so to speak, was anointed with precious oil. In the same way, the body of Christ is powerfully anointed by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel, heal the sick, and cast out demons when its members---whether locally, regionally, or universally---minister and work together in a spirit of unity.

 

 

 

---

Ministering supernatural healing in a balanced and scriptural way which is traditionally non-"charismatic"

---

The source of division and disunity between evangelical and charismatic believers is not difficult to single out. At one time evangelicals said that charismatics were extreme and unbalanced in some of their teachings and practices while charismatics felt that evangelicals were weak and lacked the demonstration of God’s power. While in some quarters of the body of Christ this disunity is gradually being overcome, many evangelical believers are still wary of anything having to do with “signs and wonders” and miraculous healing since these are generally labeled as charismatic and therefore considered by them in some way extreme. But we are in the end times, and the Lord will have His way---He is restoring unity to His Church. He has revealed a scriptural way by which miraculous healings can take place without the accompanying charismatic manifestations such as people falling down and speaking in unknown tongues.

If we study the healing ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples in the gospels and in Acts, we see that when they ministered healing to the sick no one fell down and no one spoke in tongues. (By this we are not at all saying that these manifestations are not from God, but simply that according to Scripture they did not accompany the miraculous healings.) Rather, the sick were most often healed when Jesus or His disciples exercised their authority over disease and demons. They rebuked the infirmities and gave authoritative commands to them to be healed; they rebuked demons and commanded them to leave. They gave these commands with mountain-moving faith and without doubt. Since diseases and demons were under the authority of Jesus and His disciples, they were forced to obey the commands with the result that people were healed miraculously.

This authority over disease and demons to be used in the context of proclaiming the Kingdom of God to the lost has never been taken away from the Church. It is in effect whenever disciples of Christ are sent out to proclaim the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:1-2, Luke 10:1, 9). However, most believers---whether evangelical or charismatic---either do not know that they have been given this authority or they have never been taught how to exercise it. But when they are properly taught according to Scripture, we will see them perform miracles of healing in the name of Jesus as the gospel is being proclaimed. And these miracles take place without any accompanying “charismatic” manifestations. The miracles done in Jesus’ name demonstrate to the lost that our God is the true God and that Jesus Christ is the only way to Him.

This approach opens the way for evangelicals and charismatics to work together in proclaiming the gospel to the lost and the eventual fulfillment of the Great Commission in these end times.

Walls of disunity fall in San Jose, California

 

 

---

Terrorism: Why isn't the Church reaching the Muslims in our cities?

---

Commentary following July 7, 2005 terrorist bombing in London

While government authorities are responsible to protect us physically from the horror of Islamic terrorism, the Church has a responsibility to do something beyond prayer and hand-wringing. It is called preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the Muslims. Sadly, like Saul and the Israelites fleeing in fear from Goliath, the Church is afraid when confronted by the giant of Islam. Even when this giant arrives on our shores and builds mosques in our cities and backyards, the Church does nothing except pray, if even that. Clearly, we are commanded to do more than simply to trust God and pray. David boldly confronted Goliath and killed him. Why does the Church not confront the giant?

It is because the Church is not equipped to kill the giant. We have no idea how to preach Christ to the gospel-resistant Muslims in our cities. We are not able to preach the gospel like the early Church, which knew how to use great miraculous signs to demonstrate to the lost that Jesus Christ is Lord and the only Savior. Because of this the early Church grew rapidly. This powerful weapon is no longer in our hands and so the Church is reduced to prayer without action or a gospel without visible power. While prayer is foundational, prayer alone will not get the job done.

When the gospel is preached with words alone---even nice-sounding and persuasive ones---gospel-resistant peoples will usually see Christianity as nothing more than a nice foreign religion. They already have their own religion and culture. Only when the gospel is preached and accompanied by power that is completely absent in their religion will they begin to consider that our God is the only true God and that Jesus Christ is the only way to Him.

We would like to report that the Lord is now restoring this power to His Church so that we may bring to Christ large numbers of Muslims (and Hindus and Buddhists) who already live in our communities. This power is already in evidence in the nations from which these people groups originate. In Egypt, Niger (West Africa), Indonesia, India, and Vietnam, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists came to Christ in unusual numbers after hearing the gospel and witnessing the confirming miraculous healings. In Australia, Vietnamese Buddhists came to Christ in unprecedented numbers as trained evangelical believers healed the sick in Christ's name at the Crusades. Most recently, gospel-resistant Buddhists in San Jose, California came to Christ in numbers ten times greater than usual in a Crusade when evangelical and charismatic believers came together in unity to preach the gospel in the power of miraculous signs.

We are in the end times, and the Church can now be equipped to reach the Muslims who live in our midst. If we do not, more mosques will spring up and the spectre of terrorism which was just realized in London on July 7 will simply grow more menacing. We are not talking only about the Great Commission, we are also talking about protecting our freedom and way of life in the West.

The End Time Model of Evangelism
A non-charismatic model of healing

 

 

---

The Biblical paradigm of miraculous healing

---

The Church today sees healing primarily as a blessing from the Father for the followers of His Son Jesus Christ. While Jesus called it the “children’s bread,” there may be some misunderstanding of who these “children” actually are.

Matthew 15:22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

Whom did Jesus mean by “the children?” He was referring to “the lost sheep of Israel” to whom He was sent. These were not born-again believers but lost sheep whom He came to find. Healing was for the lost whom He came to save.

Today with the Lord's command to go into all the world to preach the gospel, "the lost sheep of Israel" would include the lost Gentiles as well.

Of course, healing is for born-again believers as well. The gift of healing is given by the Holy Spirit to minister healing to those in the body of Christ. However, there is definite imbalance in the thinking of the Church, an over-emphasis on healing for believers to the near exclusion of the primary function of healing which is to draw the lost to Jesus Christ.

John 20:30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 14:11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

Luke 9:2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

Jesus came to save the lost, not simply to heal the sick. He healed the sick not simply because of His compassion for them, but as proof that He was the Son of God, the Savior who was the only way to the Father.

The Church sees “healing services” exclusively as events where believers go to receive the blessing of healing from the Lord. This robs miraculous healing of its primary intent and power---as a sign to the lost that Jesus has authority to forgive sin and save from condemnation in hell.

Mark 2:9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins....” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

It’s time for the Church to see miraculous healing as Scripture teaches it---a powerful weapon with which we can complete the Great Commission, preaching the gospel to every creature and discipling all nations before Christ returns. It's time for the Church to re-examine its selfish "bless me" emphasis with regard to miraculous healing. Of course sick believers rightfully desire to be healed. But should this take away from the rightful emphasis on reaching the lost? Which has the higher priority in God's sight?

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation…17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; …they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

The Lord confirmed the truth of the gospel to the lost through the miraculous signs performed by the believers as they laid hands on the sick. And He does the same things today. We have seen it with our own eyes.