Tithing and the role this plays in the Church today

Regarding tithing and the role this plays in enabling the Church to carry out its mandate to take the gospel to all the world, and for the saints to be "equipped for the work of the ministry"....

1) Tithing (giving 10% of one's increase - be that material or financial in nature) was in operation BEFORE the Law was given to Moses, because Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek, who is a type and forerunner of Jesus [confirmed in Hebrews Ch 7 in the NT] - see Genesis 14:18-20:

18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said:
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
And he gave him a tithe of all.

In Psalm 110:4, God confirms that Jesus is of the same order as Melchizedek...

The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.” [NKJV]

To make sure we really understand this, Paul re-affirms this in Hebrews 4:10 and Hebrews 6:20..

10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” [NKJV]

20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. [NKJV]

Now, based on the fact that Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils (increase) to Melchizedek, who was the priest of God Most High, it appears that the requirement of tithing of our increase is a Kingdom of God requirement, that was established before the Law, and is therefore not a part of the Law, but of the righteousness of God.

In Hebrews 7, Paul clearly argues that believers in Jesus should also tithe of their increase, following in the footsteps of Abraham, whom God called "His friend", and that their tithe is given to Jesus, since He now stands in the role of High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.


2) Whenever Jesus spoke about tithing, He commended it - see Matthew 23:23-, also Luke 11:41,Luke 18:12):

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

The passage in Hebrews 7 confirms that Jesus is entitled to at least the same rights as Melchizedek, which means that we Christians are also required to give tithes to Him. This has NOTHING to do with the Mosaic Law.

God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He NEVER changes. If this is true, then the passage in Malachi 3:8-10 MUST still be true...

8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.

According to this passage, God regards the tithe as His personal property, and if we do not give it we are robbing God.

I don't know about you, but I certainly do not want God to accuse me of being a thief, especially since He has promised to bless me abundantly if I give Him the tithe.

The tithe is NOT an offering, and it should be given to your local church (see next point) where you are a member, since its intent is to support and provide for the apostles, prophets evangelists, pastors and teachers that Jesus has set up in the local church. These anointed ministers of God are Jesus' representatives here on earth for teaching and building up the saints for the work of the ministry.

It says in 1 Corinthians 9:1-14 that it is the right of an anointed minister of God, who stands in one or more of the 5-fold offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher to be paid for the work they do in their ministries:

1 Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?
2 If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this:
4 Do we have no right to eat and drink?
5 Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?
7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?
8 Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?
9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it oxen God is concerned about?
10 Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope.
11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?
12 If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.
13 Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?
14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel. [NKJV, emphasis added]

In fact Paul goes further, and says in 1 Timothy 5:17-18:

17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.
18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” [NKJV]

It is clear from these passages of scripture that God expects (commands!) that His ministers are fed and provided for by the people who receive their anointed ministry. For anyone to say that the role of a paid pastor in today's church is one that scripture opposes is utterly wrong!!

This is the view now being promulgated by George Barna and Frank Viola in their new book "Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices". Just so that you see that I am not misrepresenting them, I quote from the book:

Note that we are using the term pastor throughout this chapter to depict the contemporary pastoral office and role, not the specific individual who fills this role. By and large, those who serve in the office of pastor are wonderful people. They are honorable, decent, and very often gifted Christians who love God and have a zeal to serve His people. But it is the role they fill that both Scripture and church history are opposed to. [Empahsis added]

You are also asked by God to give free-will offerings towards the ministry ("good works") of the Church - these are in addition to the tithe, and God will only accept them if you give them cheerfully and in faith, for as it says in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7:

"6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." [NKJV]

These offerings can be regarded as spiritual seeds, which, because this seed is eternal, never dies or goes bad, and will ALWAYS give a return if you speak life to it. Therefore you, just like any farmer, should expect a harvest from this seed, here and now, in this life - not just in the eternal future.


3) The purpose of the tithe today

As Head of the Church, Jesus has established anointed ministers of God, namely apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to be in the local church, whose responsibility is to teach, admonish, edify (build up) and equip the saints (that's ALL believers) so that they, the believers, can do the work of the ministry. See [Ephesians 4:11-15]. Since it is obvious to all that we have yet to reach that place of

13 ...come[ing] to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. [NKJV]

the role of the five-fold ministry positions must still be in effect.

To clarify, the only one of these 5 roles that has the job of overseeing or shepherding a local church is the Pastor. An Apostle only has an oversight role in those churches that he, or she, has personally been involved in starting. Nobody, who calls themselves an apostle, has the right to march into a church and demand that the Pastor be submitted to him, because he is believes he is an apostle and that is the way the church leadership is supposed to be structured. There is NOTHING in the NT that support that view. Even Paul himself acknowledged that he, as an apostle, was limited in his authority to those churches that he had helped to start - see Acts 1 Corinthians 9:1-2.

An apostle may clearly be identified as someone who has been called of God to start churches, and has done so several times (thus demonstrating he has the anointing to be an apostle), and who as a result has oversight over those churches, and provides pastoral oversight and advice to the Pastors for those churches. The apostle may have oversight over other Pastors in churches he or she did not have a hand in starting, but only because they have requested this, as a form of accountability and for guidance. The apostle still has no right to take over the control of a church under his authority unless the designated Pastor has resigned or been removed from his position due to inappropriate behavior or ungodly activities. Even then, the Apostle will (or should) endeavor to quickly find a replacement for that Pastor. An Apostle may also have one or more anointings to be a prophet or teacher, but these "gifts" are primarily for the churches he or she has oversight of, and occasionally for the benefit of other ministries, but only if invited to do so.

The role of a NT prophet is much different from that of an OT prophet. They have a specific calling from God to provide prophetic instruction to a local church, or occasionally to a wider audience, e.g meetings involving believers from a group of local churches, or at a convention of believers (it is VERY unlikely that an prophet will be called to minister the whole Body of Christ). Again, the prophet will be submitted to the pastor of his local church. Prophets do not operate independently of a local church. We, as believers are required of God to judge and validate any "words" given by a prophet, to make sure that they line up with the Word. The local church may choose to provide some support for this person, if their ministry takes them further afield than their local church. This would most likely come from the free-will offerings of the congregation, rather than out of the tithes.

A true prophet will regularly operate in one or more of the "utterance gifts", as described in 1 Corinthians12 - namely the operation of the "gift of Prophesy", which is the vehicle for the manifestation of either or both the "Word of Knowledge" or the "Word of Wisdom". They will often also operate in the "". This means that they are given insight ("discernment" means simply to see - with no connotations of judgment) into the realm of the spirit world, and can become aware of both good (angelic) and bad (demonic) spirits, as well as individual human spirits.

Please understand that these "gifts", or rather "manifestations of Holy Spirit" occur ONLY when the Holy Spirit decides - the prophet may choose to give or not to give these prophetic announcements - that is his right [1 Corinthians 14:32], but no true prophet would presume to consistently refuse the leading of Holy Spirit in these matters - they risk losing the anointing if they do so.

An evangelist should be sent out from the local church where he or she is an accredited member. Generally speaking, evangelists do not make good pastors, and it unusual for God to call and evangelist to be a pastor. A true evangelist will have a special anointing to preach the gospel, with sings, wonders and miracles following, in confirmation f the Word. The will usually operate in the "power" gifts of Holy Spirit - the "working of miracles", the "gifts of healings" (notice the plural tense), the "gift of special faith" (to distinguish this from every believer's "measure of faith" - see ), and sometimes the "Word of Knowledge" and "discernment of spirits". Basically, Holy Spirit will manifest these "gifts" in order for the effective working of the signs, wonders and miracles. Just as with Jesus' ministry, sometimes sickness and disease is the direct result of demonic oppression, and requires the working of a miracle to cast the demonic influence out of a person. This is where the evangelist can be given the "discernment of spirits" so that they know what to do. The "gift of special faith" comes into operation to allow the evangelist to have the faith to believe, on behalf of the person being ministered to, for example, for a limb or body part to grow back, or for a person who has suffered from the destructive effects of a disease such as leprosy, and God wants to not merely heal them of the disease, but wants to restore them to complete wholeness, by reconstructing and replacing missing body parts. He or she should be able to support themselves from the free-will offerings they receive from the group of believers they are ministering to. Their local church may also contribute, in the same manner a prophet may be supported.

A Teacher is someone who has the anointing to teach the truths of the Word to believers - again this person's ministry may be limited to a local church, a group of churches (probably under the oversight of an apostolic ministry) or as one with a wider ministry to a the Body of Christ, say at the national level, and who travels around from convention to convention teaching the Word to the believers in that locale. Antone who has a anointed teaching ministry to the Body of Christ should be able to support themselves from the free-will offerings they receive as a result of their ministry.

In ALL cases, the person who has the anointing to be a prophet, evangelist or teach MUST be a part of a local church, and choose to be submitted to the pastoral oversight of anointed Pastor. Note also that the "manifestations" are at the express will of Holy Spirit - any one of the five-fold ministries can find themselves in deep trouble if they try to operate these "gifts" outside of the direct prompting of Holy Spirit, and they run the risk of leading believers into error or worse. No one person has any or all of "the gifts" in permanent operation in their life - they are not the ones who decide when and where the "manifestations of the Spirit" happen - this is solely the decision of Holy Spirit. You will however sometimes witness someone who is called as an apostle, prophet, pastor or teacher, manifest any one or more of the 9 "gifts" as part of their ministry to the local church.

The Pastor stands in the office of overseer or shepherd, and as such represent the authority of Jesus over a local church. As such, he or she is the person to receives the tithes and free-will offerings from the local believers who attend that specific church or assembly on a regular basis.

It is VERY important to note that the pastor is the steward, not the sole recipient of these finances, which are to be used to carry out the work of the ministry - to pay for the building and its equipment and maintenance, to support the pastor's ministry to that church, so that he does not have to spend time working to support him/herself and his family, but can devote his time to the care and feeding of the flock. The pastor's role is not to dominate or tell the flock what to do, but to teach and admonish the flock in the ways of God, so that they are able to "come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" [Ephesians 4:13].

It is for the pastor to determine, with help if he so desires from other ministers or godly people, what to do with the unallocated portion of the tithes and any unallocated free-will offerings - to give to missions, or towards the support of other ministries, as they feel directed by Holy Spirit.

So you can see that tithing is God's way of ensuring that individual churches are able to fulfill the mandate of the "Great Commission" and take care of themselves and their pastor (and any other person who forms part of the "full-time" work of the ministry in that local church (including administrative staff, etc.)).


4) God promises us a blessing "that there will not be room enough to receive" if we tithe regularly.

If you are not being blessed, try tithing. If you are lacking anything, start sowing seed (offerings) in faith (but NOT out of need), so that God can provide you with a harvest, and when you sew, tell God what you are sowing it for in faith (note: without faith it is impossible to please God) - be that health, finances, a vehicle, your future plans, etc. You HAVE to speak out in faith what you expect your harvest to be, because this is how it will come to pass - because this is how God operates - He calls those things that are not as though they were [Romans 4:17], and we are commanded to imitate God.

The real problem is that most Christians do not understand how the Kingdom of God operates here on earth. Jesus has delivered us from the consequences of the Curse of the Law - as described in Deuteronomy 28. So, if you are bedeviled (literally, since this is the source of anything bad) by sickness, disease, lack, poverty or any other evil thing, look at your actions and words.

Have you negated or blocked the flow of the blessings of God in your life because of your omission in paying your tithes and giving offerings to God - or have you done so in a spirit of grumbling and complaining? Have you been speaking words that do not line up with or agree with Scripture. God says that He wants us to be:

6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace [God's operational power to get things done] abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. [2 Corinthians 9:8, NKJV, emphasis added]

I don't know about you, but I want to be always having all sufficiency in all things, and not just that, but having an abundance for every good work.

I pay my tithe, I give offerings, and I am VERY blessed by God, as is my local church, because we have understood that God does not say things He does not mean.

John

Some teachings on Healing, and "walking in divine health"..

(As this is quite a long post, I will post this first part and then follow up with some specific teaching on how to receive, keep and walk in divine health).

Jesus said in the Great Commission in Mark 16:17:
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My Name . . . they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”

It goes on to say in verse 20:
“And they went and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word through the accompanying signs.”

In the four Gospels, there are 19 different cases of healing recorded. Three of these were as a result of Jesus casting out a demon. In 13 of the remaining 16 times, Jesus either said or implied that it was the person's own faith that resulted in their healing.

So, obviously it is important that we understand that we, individually, have a major role to play in both receiving healing, and walking in divine health on a daily basis. We have all received the measure of faith - which, since God is impartial, and has no favorites, means we have all received the same amount of faith, as a gift from God when we were born again - see Romans 12:3.

Romans 10:17 says that "faith comes by [repeatedly] hearing the Word of God". This teaching series attempts to provide a “platform” where the Word, particularly on healing, will go forth and faith for healing may be developed and strengthened. This will enable the Lord to confirm His Word with signs following in the form of manifestations of healing as promised in Mark 16:19-20.

First we will look at some common "traditions" and "doctrines of man" that have made the Word of God of no effect [Matthew 15:6].


1) Healing has passed away, and is no longer available for today

If this is true, then God is a liar

It says in the Word:

Exodus 15:26 “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.” [NKJV]
If this was true then, it must still be true today.

Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change” [NKJV]
I think this is self-evident - the question is "Do You REALLY believe it?"

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. [NKJV]
God ONLY gives us GOOD gifts. By no stretch of the imagination would one call sickness a good gift.

According to the Word [Romans 5:12], sin, death, sickness and disease "entered into" the world at the time of Adam's rebellion against God, causing him to immediately die spiritually, and to start to die physically. They did NOT come from God - they are a direct result of Adam's sin - they come from the enemy of our souls, the devil. As it says in John 10:10 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

The word used for "life" is zoe - the God kind of life - which is, by definition, free from any sickness, disease, affliction, mental problems, missing or damaged body parts, etc, etc, and which is ALWAYS victorious, blessed, healthy, prosperous, joy-filled.

God did not create us to suffer from sickness and disease, in fact He made it clear in His s Word (Deuteronomy 28) that we have to chose between life and death, and that Jesus has ALREADY set us (those of us who are born again, blood-bought members of His body) free from the Curse of the Law, which includes EVERY kind of sickness and disease - no exceptions.

In Psalm 105:3 it says:
[God] Who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation] with good things, So that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong, overcoming, soaring]. [AMP]

This verse is addressed to EVERYONE. If you are not willing to ACT on what you believe, then you really don't believe. Not believing means you are not in faith, which as God says, means you are IN SIN!!

for whatever is not from faith is sin [Romans 14:23, NKJV]

God is STILL our healer. He never changes - so the basis for us to receive healing, and remain in divine health is, as Jesus showed, dependent upon OUR faith - the rock solid assurance that the Word of God NEVER changes, and that God has done EVERYTHING He needs to do to provide us with health and healing in our bodies. As it says in the Word:

[Romans 8:2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

[Ephesians 1:3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

Thus we can see that God has ALREADY given us everything we will ever need - we just need to learn to appropriate by faith, by believing god's Word, and putting our faith in to action - if you cannot do anything else, at the minimum SPEAK out the Word, Just as it says in 1 Peter 2:24, By Jesus' stripes I have been healed (past tense). and also in 1 Peter 5:5, Resist the devil and he will flee [in terror] from you.

The Book of Acts is still being written, since it is the story of the Church and the acts of power of Holy Spirit through the Church. as far as I am aware, the Church is still here. One of the last things recorded in the Book of Acts shows that healing was still available, was still happening.

Acts 28:8-9 8 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. [NKJV]

In other words, when Paul left Malta, EVERYBODY who had been sick on the island had been healed!!!!

Nowhere does Scripture EVER say that healing is not for today. It is ONLY the "traditions of men" that say so. Who are you going to believe? God or Man?

Glory to God!!!


2) God makes you sick to teach you something

This is absolutely from the pit of hell!!

The ONLY thing God uses to teach us is the Scriptures. as it says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Word is what makes us complete, mature, fully equipped for every good work.

Imagine a father making his child sick, as a means of instruction - giving them cancer, of a virus, or some bacterial infection, or by destroying body parts (e.g. leprosy), or causing a child to be born malformed, or mentally disabled. Most sane(?) people would agree that this classifies as child abuse or worse, and yet man teaches that God sends sickness on us to make us a better Christian. This is not only wrong, it is, to put it mildly, an offence against God.

Again, as Jesus said in John 10:10:

“The thief [=the devil] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they [=all mankind] may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”


3) God allows sickness to come on us

This is almost as bad as 2) above

In Genesis 1:26, before Adam's rebellion, God gave Mankind (both male and female) the command that they were to take dominion [=authority] over the earth and everything in, on, and above it - that also includes everything that "entered in" to the earth because of Adam's rebellion - i.e. death, sickness, disease, poverty, lack, fear, etc.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” [NKJV]

At that point, everything God had done He called "very good".

This was God's original plan - remember He never changes, so this is STILL His plan today. In fact, in the passage in Genesis 1, God is warning Mankind, in advance, of what was going to shortly happen - after the Fall, but that they would be able, through faith and trust in Him, still be able to continue to take authority. When they didn't, God had to start all over again - first by means of the Flood, and then by Jesus' death and resurrection, when Jesus took back this authority from the devil, and then gave it back to the Church. [See Matthew 28:18-20].

In Deuteronomy 30:19, God tells us to "choose life" - not sickness and death. But we are the ones who have to make that choice.

You need to ask yourself, "Does God allow me to be sick? It is clear from the above passages that it is NOT God who allows us to be sick, rather that God EXPECTS US to take authority over the sickness and resist it.

Man was created to be God's Kingdom agent, to rule and subdue God's creation - all of it, including the aggressive acts of the enemy (who was already on the earth BEFORE Adam's rebellion, and who had previously been the Ruler of the World - until God threw him out of Heaven, and took away his power and authority, and gave it to Mankind. Unfortunately Mankind promptly rebelled against God, and gave the devil back this power and authority.

BUT, Jesus took it back again, and gave the authority back to His Body - the Church.

Now, we have both the right AND the responsibility to make the right choice (life) and to take authority over the world and the devil - since Jesus has given the Church that authority:

20 ..Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:16-20, NKJV]


4) God gets glory from the way you bear up under sickness

Just look at the Gospels.

Matthew 15:31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Mark 2:12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Luke 18:43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

God gets the glory when people are healed and delivered from sickness, not through them suffering from it and through it.

In John 15:7-8, Jesus said that God is glorified when we bear much fruit. Sickness is NOT a good fruit!!

7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

In Romans 8:28 it says:

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good, and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose [AMP]

Please, please note that the subject and context that Paul is addressing is about PRAYER. It has NOTHING to do with us coping with bad situations, circumstances or sickness. We are supposed to take authority over these things, so that they don't affect us.

When the Body of Christ (that's us) and God are working together in prayer, THEN the result is ALWAYS GOOD!!.

You often hear people, when they pray, use the expression "if it be Thy Will"

This is taken from Luke 22:42, when Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion. He is asking God, if it is at all possible, for Him not to have to go through with the terrible ordeal He knows he is facing - this is His humanity ("flesh") speaking, but His spirit then says "not my will, but Your Will be done"

The only time you can use the expression "if it be Thy Will" is when you are praying a prayer of consecration. For example, if you are wondering if God has called you to go on the mission field in Africa (for example) and you are wanting to make sure that this is God's plan for you, and not just your own, well meaning desire to preach the Gospel to all the world, then you can ask if it be Thy Will".

When we pray, we are supposed to pray according to the revealed Will of God, as given in Scripture. To use the expression "if it be Thy Will" in any other kind of prayer is to be praying in COMPLETE contradiction to Mark 11:24,

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

In fact the Greek is even stronger, and the passage should read:

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, having already believed that you have already received them, you already have them.” That's the prayer of faith!! We should be speaking those things that are not (i.e. don't exist) as though they do - since this is how God operates [Romans 4:17]

In other words, if you don't believe that you already have something, don't pray to receive them, because this is not praying the prayer of faith, and anything that is not of faith is sin!!

As far as healing is concerned, it is ALWAYS God's will that people are healed. I know that this is a very sweeping and definitive statement, but please consider the ministry of Jesus, who "went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." [Acts 10:38, NKJV]. As far as I am aware, the word "all" means just that - he healed EVERYBODY..

Note: I will cover this statement in more detail later on, but for the moment please accept that this is the TRUE Biblical position for healing.


5) "Paul's Thorn in the flesh"

This is described in the passage in 2 Corinthians 12:2-10.

"2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—
4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
5 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities.
6 For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me.
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
" [NKJV]

Note that in verse 7, the "thorn" is called a "messenger [gr. angelos] of Satan" - in other words a mighty demonic evil spirit - sent to buffet him. Paul recognized this as a spiritual onslaught, as he later describes in Ephesians 6:12:

for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The word angelos occurs 188 times in the NT. Of these, 181 times it is translated as "angel", and 7 times as "messenger". In all cases it refers to a spiritual personality or being.

So, we see from Paul's description, that this "messenger" was a mighty evil spirit, specifically assigned to Paul by Satan, to stop him preaching the abundant revelations that God had given him [see v7]. It was NOT any kind of sickness or disease, or even an "ugly mother-in-law" (as some people have taught - really!!)

Satan did not want these teachings to reach the Church. This assigned "messenger" was his attempt to stop Paul, by stirring up trouble for him through other people, notably the "Jews" - meaning the Pharisees and Sadducees and other teachers of the Law of Moses.

The "messenger" did this by creating riots, commotions, attempts on Paul's life and physical attacks on Paul's person, by means of beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, etc.

This messenger would also use Satan's only method of attacking Paul directly, through deception, either through his mind (i.e. trying to trap Paul into believing the "traditions" of the Elders) or by trying to get Paul to accept "lying symptoms" of sickness and disease.

As I have already explained, God wants US to "resist the devil" - He is not going to do it for us. So, in this situation, God was expecting Paul to resist these attacks, by taking authority over the works of the enemy (both spiritual, physical and mental).

The most effective attack the enemy could muster was through other people, who got upset about what Paul was teaching - this teaching was upsetting them (to put it mildly) and going against their "traditions" and their power base in society.

In Mark 4:3-7 we see the Parable of the Sower and the Seed. The explanation of who the Sower is and what the Seed was is given in v14 - the Seed is the Word of God, and the Sower is the one who sows the Word - in this case Paul.

In verse 7 we see that the "thorns" choke the word of God, by making people focus on the cares of the world (their "traditions", power and authority). This was Satan's intention for Paul - to literally choke the life out of him, so that he could no longer preach.

In Acts 13:44, 50 we see an example of this. Paul was preaching the Word in Antioch. The "Jews" expelled him, by stirring up the people ("the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city") and raising up persecution against them (Paul and Barnabas).

In Acts 14:1,5 we see the same happening. Paul is preaching in Iconium. As a result "a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them" Paul and Barnabas had to flee for their lives.

In Acts 14:7,19-20 Paul and Barnabas arrive in Lystra. They preach the Word, but this time, things got so out of hand after the Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived, who so aroused the people against Paul, that they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, and left him for dead. Interestingly, Paul got up and returned into the city, after the disciples had gathered around him, and walked out of the city the next day - obviously God miraculously healed him.

Paul eventually figured out that he had to deal with these attacks on his life, through the power and authority vested in him as a believer, and through the power of God's grace - God's operational power - that was working inside of him.

Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians 12:9. He finally realized that the grace of God that was inside of him was more than a match for the enemy and all his evil forces, and so he resisted the devil and he fled from him. One can ascertain from Scripture that Paul did not appear to have any further major attacks on his person as he continued on in his ministry, until he finally returned to Jerusalem, where he was caught in a riot, arrested and sent before governor Felix in Caesarea on false charges put forward by the Jewish leaders.

“My grace [operational power] (My favor and loving kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully], for My strength [gr. dunamis] and power is made perfect (fulfilled and complete) and show themselves most effective [fully functional] in [your] weakness [=your limits, end of your own abilities].” [AMP, with additions].

Really what God is telling Paul is that he already has the power [grace] and authority to deal with the enemy's attacks, because when human strength ends, God' power excels.

In Philippians 4:12-13 we see how Paul has grasped this: "I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." [NKJV, emphasis added]

In the Amplified version, verse 13 reads:
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]. Wow!!

But let's not leave things there, without some further explanation concerning "thorns in the flesh". In Numbers 33:50-56, we see that God told the Israelites that if they did not get rid of the people living in the Promised Land, as God had instructed them to do through Moses, then these people would be like "irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides" to them. This expression is an idiom, meaning that it is an accepted phrase or expression that has a meaning different from the literal meaning. An modern example would be "you are a pain in the neck".

It is interesting to note that this is exactly the situation today in the land of Israel - the people descended from these original inhabitants, especially those living in what used to be Philistia (the Philistines), now known as Gaza, are truly like "irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell" to the Israelis!

You can see from the passage in Numbers that "thorns in the side (or flesh)" are NOT sickness and diseases, or other frailties, but the buffeting of your person by other beings, either spiritual or natural.

From 2 Timothy 3:10-11 we can see that Paul got the message of 2 Corinthians 12:9 and God delivered him from all his afflictions!!

But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra — what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.

Finally, in Mark 16:20 we see that the pattern for us "normal" Christians is to go out and preach everywhere, and the Lord will work with and confirm His Word through the accompanying signs (supernatural signs, wonders and miracles).

You final question may be, "How do we do this?"

Jesus has the answer, as always. In John 8:31-32 He says,:

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. “And you shall know the Truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Study the Word, ask Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth and pray in the Spirit at all times.

John

P.S. I will continue with more teaching on healing, and how to receive healing when you need it, and how to walk in divine health on a daily basis soon.