I BEG YOU...DON'T HINDER THE GLORY OF GOD

Greetings everyone. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. I was going to title this blog "How to stop God's hand," but their are some who would consider that impossible and probably blasphemous. With that we better start off with some prayer. Dear Father, we come before You knowing that Your ways are much higher than our ways. Regardless, you do relish in opportunities to reveal Yourself to us. May this be one of them. We trust You but not our own understanding. Open our ears and eyes Holy Spirit so we may know our God more intimately. We Love You...AMEN.

I am sure you have heard it said that as believers we are not to be sick. But some of the teachings on this subject seem to be overbalanced in many respects. If we are sick then our faith is messed up some how. Or how about this one...God does not put or allow sickness on us because He is not a child abuser. We have had mountain moving faith shoved so far down our throats on this subject that many go away disappointed when we are not healed like we have been taught. Please understand me, I most heartily agree that God desires that I be made well and whole. I do believe that I am redeemed from the curse. I do believe in faith healing, anointing with oil and confessions that "by His stripes I am healed." But in reality many (most) believers go through bouts of sickness and the miracle seems few and far between. I myself am so slippery with anointing oil that I can't hardly get my clothes on. My head sporting a bald spot from men of faith laying hands on me but yet my pain and certain diseases remain. Is God not faithful? Is my faith and the faith of some most wonderful faith giants lacking? Is God mad at me? Am I really saved? NO, NO, NO and YES. I WILL NOT try to answer these questions for you. But in this blog AND the next we will explore together some possibilities from the Word of God about this most misunderstood subject.

Have you not considered that Jesus went about and healed ALL who were sick and oppressed of the devil? We find that in Acts 10:38. Wait a minute. I thought that healing was reserved for those born again. Not true. God even says that He rains blessings upon the just and unjust. Lets consider Acts 5:15,16. "As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits. And ALL of them were healed." In Acts 19:11,12 we find something similar going on, " God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them." I said all of that to say this...faith is demanded to bring about the things of God. But the faith can come from the one who is sick or the one who carries the anointing. For example, the unbelievers who received healing from Jesus in Acts 10 did so on His faith because an unbeliever has no such faith. In just a moment we will find out how to stop that miracle working faith. That wonderful power and mercy of God.

We have discovered that faith is a key element in receiving from God. We have also found that the faith can come from the sick or the one doing the healing through the Hand of God. Why a person is sick will be pondered briefly in the next few blogs. But to further illustrate what stops God's Hand in producing the divine we must ever so slightly touch, why the sickly? Lets read John 9: 1-3,7. "As he went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. " "Go," He told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam." So the man went and washed, and came home seeing." My main point here is that giving God glory and honor for His divine mercy and power seems to be another prerequisite for receiving from Him. Along with faith. Mind you, while we were in these verses, we also discovered that sin does cause sickness. Can we also be so bold to defer that sometimes God allows such things for His glory and for others to come to Him through these miracles? YES we can. More reasons for sickness will be addressed in the next few blogs. Again, in this discourse we are trying to discover reasons God's Hand is held back from doing the miraculous in our midst.

"Then Jesus said, "did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that You have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent me." When He said this, Jesus called in aloud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:40-44. Again we see that believing God for the impossible and giving Him all the honor and glory for His Hand moving on our behalf is required.

But don't take my word for it. Lets let the Word speak for itself in this matter. Matthew 13:58 says, "And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." But as we discovered earlier, Jesus had faith so faith wasn't the whole issue here. His home town people didn't receive Jesus as the Son of God so neglected giving honor where honor was due.

In the days to come know this: God's glory will cover the earth. His anointing, His miracle working power will be everywhere. Don't cheat yourself, family or friends from receiving His divine working by a.) denying this comes from Him and b.) giving Him all the glory.