Yesterday, I did not make any commentary; but chose to limit myself to Jim Elliot's quote and several Bibles verses. I did not want to interject my thoughts; but just let the quotes speak for themselves, hoping to provoke reflection. Today, I will make comments.
You may say: "my church does not deny the power of God" or "I would never deny the power of God". No, we would never SAY that God is not all powerful; BUT, do we always act like He is all powerful. Let me give you an example denying the power using a very simple model. Suppose that being a good Dutchman, for years you have mowed your lawn with that 30 inch riding mower you bought in the 70's. It probably had a 15 hp motor. Sure it still works but you find yourself, mowing a little more often because it won't cut tall grass, and instead of taking a 30 inch path, you usually cut a 15 inch path so you are mowing every area twice to get a nice cut. It does not turn very sharp and you have to shift multiple times to cut around trees. Finally, you bite the bullet and buy a new 25 hp, 60 inch zero turn radius mower; BUT, you continue to mow like when you had your old mower. You know it has the power to mow the full 60 inches but your old habits are hard to change.
This is what most of the us do, when it comes to the power of God. We don't act like God is all powerful. We still worry about tomorrow. We still try to solve our own problems in our own strength. Sure, God can do miracles today; but, we don't expect them. We don't act like Jesus did when confronted with sickness, storms and confronting Satan. We wear WWJD bracelets but don't really follow through. We get more peace after calling the doctor and having them call in a prescription when the kids get an ear infection, than when we get on our knees and pray. I am not saying that we should not call the doctor; but, when do we get the peace. Do we follow James' instruction:
"Is any one ill? Let him send for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will restore the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up to health; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven."
What if, instead of calling the doctor first, we called the elders of the church or fellow believer's who REALLY believe that God wants to heal us. Do we call the prayer chain after the antibiotics don't work?
How often, if ever, does your church do this? How many times have I heard sermons explaining away the need to follow these instructions. I have heard pastors say that this is the only time that we are instructed to do this. As a parent, how many times have we said to our kids, "how many times do I need to tell you, do it now". Should we not treat God's instruction with the same "oneness".
Paul told the Corinthians that "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (dead)". These sicknesses and deaths were not what God wanted for these people. He wanted them to repent and be healthy. Now some of are getting all excited and thinking: Is Merle saying that sickness is the result of sin in our life. No, I am not saying that all sickness is the result of sin; BUT, I am saying that some is! Are we better than the Corinthian church? Do our prayers bounce off the ceiling because of unforgiveness, bitterness or anger in our life
How many times did Jesus rebuke the people around Him, including His disciples, for their lack of faith? Are we better than they were? Surely, it could not be our lack of faith. It must be God's will. God wants me sick to teach me something. Well, learn the lesson! When did Jesus tell someone that they needed to stay sick because their sickness brought glory to the Father? When did Jesus ever pray "if it be your will, Father, heal this person?" NEVER!! The only time Jesus prayed similarly was in the Garden, prior to his crucifixion.
When the disciples could not cast the demon out of the little boy, he did not rebuke the father; but the disciples. The people around the child, doing the praying, were rebuked. If the Body of Christ, the Church, thought and acted like the hands and feet of Christ, would things be different?
If we really believed in the power of God, would we act differently!!!
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