In the first chapter of the bible we are told to take dominion over everything on this earth (including animals) and to subdue it. This probably sounds a bit heavy, maybe even confusing or vague; that the God who created this world would give us this responsibility. However, we can also see this thought process in the life of Jesus who prayed:
“Your Kingdom Come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.�
Some probably think that God’s will always gets done…but this is just not true. In fact, God’s will is often not done because many people are still depressed, sick, dying, oppressed, lonely, separated from God…and this is NOT God’s will! How do I know this: Because Jesus showed us God’s will when He healed ALL who came to Him and freed people of any bondage they were living in.
So why is their sickness, disease, oppression, etc?
Who did Jesus leave in charge?
The Church!!!
We need to stop blaming God for everything bad that happens in life or justifying “bad things� as His will. When Jesus walked on this planet, He literally showed us what God’s will is, leaving us a perfect example of how we are to live:
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing ALL who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.� (Acts 10:38)
GOD LOVES PEOPLE…GOD LOVES PEOPLE…GOD LOVES PEOPLE
We need to believe that God is good and only good!! He created us for love and intimacy with Him and has shown the world how much He loves us through the life and death of His Son…however he has shifted the responsibility to us. God decided to use us, His Church, to show the world how much He loves them. When Jesus left and was resurrected, He did not leave us alone or clueless. Quite contrary, He has FULLY equipped us to finish the job…to “preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.� (Luke 9:2)
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.� (Luke 10:19)
When Jesus left, he passed on His ministry to us, the church. He chooses us and empowers us to finish the job. God gives His church:
-His name
– An anointing (1 John 2:20&27)
– His presence (God lives in us)
– Power and Authority
– His will (demonstrated in what Jesus did)
– An Inheritance
– And much more…the moment we first believe…
Unfortunately, from my experience as a Christian, I have often been told to “wait on God�, “wait till He tells me what to do�, “pray for His presence�, “wait until I’m ready�, etc. This may sound really Holy and Spiritual, but I’m not sure how much of it really makes sense. In the New Testament God has already told us to “Go�, to “preach the Gospel�, and to “heal the sick.� We are NOT Old Testament Christians who need to look for the “man of God.� The bible says we are “Royal Priests and Kings.� Yes, it is good to listen to God and spend time, in intimacy, with Him, but He has already revealed much of His heart/will/desire to us (through Jesus).
We, as Christians, often think we need to study more, go to bible college, pray more, fast more, etc. Once again, these are good things, but are we using them as excuses to not do the other commands of the bible. The real growth and maturity comes when we DO what He has already told us to without needing some outside arbitrary feeling, but just doing it because God’s word tells us to. We need to start taking the bible much more literally and not making up theologies that correspond to our experiences.
I am partly processing my thoughts right now and partly confident that this message is what God wants me to talk about. I don’t pretend to have this all figured out…not even close. But God has given us EVERYTHING and He has told us to give it away…to be a flowing river. WHY? Because He loves people and wants everyone to know Him. This is why it is so necessary that we preach the whole gospel, which includes healing the sick and doing things that probably freak us out. We have to at least try! We owe this to the world. We are blessed to be a blessing to others! What if we stopped trying to get people to come to church and started being the church everywhere we went…what would that look like?
I apologize that I don’t have some funny, light-hearted blog to write. I wish I did, but this is the message God is giving me and I believe more and more that this is the Gospel that God wants us to preach and do!!!
If the church is to be the hope of the world, then we need to preach the FULL Gospel of Jesus Christ and learn to effectively demonstrate His power!!!
