Paul's Thorn in the Flesh

This post is a response to one of comments I received for my earlier post (1 Peter 3:15):

youth pastor has left a new comment on your post "Healed": 

Interested post, but I disagree that God promises will never be sick if we walk in His divine truth. Jesus promised us that in this world "We would have troubles..." The Apostle Paul prayed for a "thorn in the flesh" to be removed and many believe this to be a health malady. There are times in our lives that God allows illness so that His glory might be revealed. We are learning that now, as my 9 year old has cancer.

I am writing this post because I feel great compassion for this pastor's daughter and I believe that God has already healed her. This post is not to condemn you but to enlighten you, that you may rejoice and thank God for the healing that he has already provided through Christ. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Many might share the above views but like the Bereans it is important we study the scriptures and find out if our views are true. (Acts 17:11).

In the earlier post titled "Healed", I spoke of how healing and health are your inheritance and you need to take possession of it. God has already given you healing by his grace and you need to respond positively by acting on your faith to take possession of it.

A common response to teaching like this is: But what about trials that God allows so that his glory might be revealed? And a common reference is given to Paul's thorn in the flesh. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Healed

The redemptive work of Christ has not only redeemed and delivered you but it has also healed you. (Read | Deliverance). That is what we are going to talk about in this post. If you are sick; it could be a simple cold, an allergy or even a life-threatening disease like cancer, this message is specially for you to receive your miracle. And if you are in good health, do not wait until sickness comes rather read this post and prepare yourself to walk in divine health all the days of your life. 

Healing is your inheritance and you need to take possession of it. When the Israelites were journeying to the Land of Promise, God told them: I have given you the Land. (Deuteronomy 1:8) (Numbers 33:53) Notice that God spoke in the past tense. The land already had their names written on it. The land was already deposited into their account. But the Israelites never entered into the land because of their unbelief. They just could not see themselves in the land, they could not see that God had already given it to them. (Hebrews 3:16-19). The story of the Israelites is in the Bible so that we can learn from them and not repeat their mistakes. Let not unbelief come in the way of you taking possession of your inheritance of health and healing. 

Healed

Isaiah 53:4, in most Bibles reads as: Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. This is an inaccurate translation. The word that was translated as grief should really be translated as sickness and the word translated as sorrows should really be translated as pain. You can look this up here | Isaiah 53:4 Hebrew Text Analysis So the accurate translation reads: Surely he hath borne our sickness, and carried our pain, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. Notice that the verse is in the past tense. The next verse reads by his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5). When, Peter quoted this verse he quoted it in the past tense. He said by his stripers you were healed (1 Peter 2:24). This is similar to God telling the Israelites: I have given you the land of Canaan. God has healed you. 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ died on the Cross, he bore your sickness, carried your pain and healing and health were deposited into your account that very day, even before you were born. What I am telling has to be spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14). God healed you even before you were born, but the reason you are not walking in healing and health is because you did not know that you were healed (Proverbs 23:7) and because you did not know, you were not able to take possession of it. The Israelites did not enter the Land of Promise, not because God did not give it to them, but because they did not take it. (Numbers 32:13) (Numbers 14:33). To live in health is your inheritance and you need to take possession of it.

Deliverance and Inheritance

When God called Abraham, He told him to leave his household and people and go to the land He will show him. (Genesis 12:1). God says in another verse: I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it. (Genesis 15:7). God said something similar to the Israelites in Egypt. He said: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Exodus 20:2) (Exodus 6:6). And then he said I have promised to bring you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites- a land flowing with milk and honey. (Exodus 3:17). We can therefore see that God's plan for Man included a Deliverance and an Inheritance. 

The Deliverance

The stories in the Old Testament are types for New Testament realities. God doesn't necessarily want you to leave your household and people but he wants to deliver you from the kingdom of darkness (the world order) and bring you in his Kingdom, the kingdom of his Son (a heavenly order). (Colossians 1:13). God wants to you to be a citizen of heaven. (Philippians 3:20). He wants you think like you are from heaven, talk like you are from heaven and live like you are from heaven. (Colossians 3:1-2). God does not want you to live like the world lives because the world and its ways are messed up and it can really mess you up as well. (Romans 1:29-32) (Colossians 3:8) (Ephesians 5:3-5) (Ephesians 2:1-3)

Give and you shall Receive

In this post I want to reveal to you a principle on how to have all sufficiency in all things, at all times. The principle of giving and receiving has be spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14). I pray that the Spirit will teach you this principle, help you understand it and the truth will set you free. (1 Corinthians 2:16) (1 Corinthians 2:10-13).

Many of you are in the wilderness and know absolutely nothing about the promise of having all your needs met and how this is a portion of your inheritance in Christ. But the Good News is that God has already made you all sufficient and He wants you to take possession of this promise. Just like God told the Israelites: Go, and take possession of the land I swore to give to your forefathers (Deuteronomy 1:8), God says: Go, and take possession of the all sufficiency that I have promised you. (John 10:10) (Ephesians 1:3).

The Key words are: Go and take. This requires an action. The Bible clearly teaches that saving faith always produces actions. Faith without works is dead. (James 2:26). One of the actions that brings prosperity is the act of Cheerful Giving. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians said: And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19). This verse has become so common that many quote it out of context and misunderstand it. This verse was a response to the generous giving of the Philippians. Paul in the earlier verse says that he was amply supplied because of their cheerful giving (Philippians 4:18) and he then as a response says: And my God will supply... (Philippians 4:19). What you need to take out of all this, is the principle of Giving and Receiving. Paul even states in the earlier verse that it was not the gift that he was looking forward to but what could be credited to their account as a result of giving. (Philippians 4:17) In simple words Paul is saying: More than the gift, I am glad about you, because by this act you have taken possession of your inheritance of having all sufficiency in all things. In simple words cheerful giving is how you take possession of the inheritance of all sufficiency that God has given you. 

Paul speaks of this same principle of giving and receiving in terms of sowing and reaping. No farmer expects a harvest without sowing seed. And when a farmer sows seed, he is not thinking about how little he can sow, rather it is what is the maximum he can sow, for the greater he sows, the greater shall his harvest be. (2 Corinthians 9:6). So the next time you receive your Salary or Returns on Investment, you ought to be thinking about what is the maximum I can sow to make it through the month and not how much can I keep.

Do not worry about your needs. (Matthew 6:25-33). When you are a cheerful giver, God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19). God is faithful and just to keep His promises. It is like one preacher says: Receive with one hand and Give with another; and when it is goes through, there is plenty for you. God wants you to be thinking about others because He has already thought about you.

Another important aspect of sowing and reaping is that it should be out of cheerfulness. The Bible says: Each Man should give what he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or out of compulsion. (2 Corinthians 9:7). It is also very important that Giving should be out of Love, otherwise you gain nothing.  (1 Corinthians 13:3) That is why the approach that many Minsters use in churches today is absolutely wrong when it comes to tithing. You should not tithe out of fear but out of  Love. I have heard stories of how ministers say: "If you do not pay your tithes, God will take it from you in doctor bills. God will get his tithes one way or another."

Because the tithing in so many churches is not out of Love, the people do not take possession of the  promise of all sufficiency at all times that God has given them. So if you do not feel like giving, just do not. But if you do, let it be out of love for God, and love for the people. Let it be an act of obedience. God clearly instructs us that we should share all good things and our financial resources with those who instruct us. (Galatians 6:6). So give to the church because you love God and want to obey him. Give because you love your church and your Pastor. 

Finally you must trust God to be faithful and just to keep His promises. God is able to make all grace abound towards you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8). Notice that it does not say God will, but God is able. It is only when you give that God is able and not otherwise. The Bible speaks about the Man who gives and always has enough as opposed to the man who does not. (Proverbs 11:24-28). The Bible also speaks about a Man who is generous. He has a house that is filled with riches and God says: His righteousness will be remembered forever. (Psalms 112:3) (Psalms 112:5-6) (Psalms 112:9). 

A man reaps what he has sown. (Galatians 6:7-8) (Luke 6:38). And the Bible says: God provides seed to the sower and bread for food. So you need to identify what is your seed and what is your food. And when you sow, God will supply and multiply your seed and increase the fruits of your righteousness. You will be enriched in all things for all liberality. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11). 

Even when it comes to work, God does not want you to work to meet your own needs. It is God's will that you work so that you can meet others needs. (Ephesians 4:28). Even when God made Adam, Adam did not have to work to meet his own needs. God provided for him completely and then God gave him work. (Genesis 1:29) (Genesis 2:15). God wants you to work so that you can give and He wants you to look to him to provide seed for sowing and bread for food. He wants you to look to him to supply and multiply your seed and increase the fruits of your righteousness. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11)

So I leave you with these words of encouragement:

Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

The Deception of Sin

By the end of this post, I am sure you will have one very good reason not to sin. The Bible speaks about how sin does not just happen but there are stages that take place before it is conceived and completed (James 1:14-15). The following diagram should make this clear: 

Today we are going to talk about the biggest deception of Sin.

Sin always begins with a lust. You could be on a diet and tempted to eat the ice-cream in the fridge. When you entertain and give place to that thought you begin to get drawn away by your lust and enticed. You really begin to desire that ice-cream. This is how sin is conceived.

Deliverance from Slavery and Judgement

Let me begin by shedding some light on the scriptures. Jesus Christ said that the Old Testament scriptures spoke of Him. (John 5:39) (Luke 24:27) (Luke 24:44-49). So the entire Old Testament is a Revelation of Jesus Christ. That itself is an amazing Truth. The Bible you hold in your hand is divine and was supernaturally put together to proclaim Christ to you. In this post I will talk about the story of the Israelites being delivered from Egypt but I am going to narrate it in such a way that you see Christ in the scriptures. 

Now a lot of things in a bible are types or shadows of New Testament realities. Egypt is a type for the world, the Pharaoh is satan and Israelites in slavery represent the people of the world. So when you put all this together you have the world, you have Satan and people who are in slavery to Satan. This is really what the story is all about. People need someone to deliver them from Slavery. (Ephesians 2:1-2)

The Sin Problem

A lot of people ask me this question: What is Sin? That is exactly what I would like to answer in this post. I do not intend to write this post with a condemning tone rather I simply hope that this post will enlighten you and lead you to God's answer for your Sin problem (Romans 10:9). Now let me jump straight to it. Sin is a state where Man is separated from God. I know my definition is quite different from what you have usually heard. What you usually hear is that SIN is a long list of things that are evil. A list that goes something like this: Disobedience to parents, destruction of the body by excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs, addictions, envy, hatred, murder, deceit, lies, evil, lust, addictions, greed, every kind of wickedness, senselessness, faithlessness, heartlessness, ruthlessness, gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogance, boastfulness, a desire to invent ways of doing evil.....

So let me put these conflicting definitions in the right perspective with a diagram: