Poll on sickness
- Thread starter seed_time_harvest
- Start date
-
Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.
If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!
To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Utter nonsense! God actually spoke to me at my salvation experience and when I received the Holy Spirit all I felt was peace. The next day the Spirit begin to speak to me saying over and over, you are my child and I love you. The Spirit of God brings peace and self control, He does not make one do the jitter bug.
This is a revelation many are not ready to concede but doesn't take away from its truth.
"I couldn't possibly eat any healthier!" "My diet isn't the cause!" *barely moves an inch* *eats chicken nuggets, french fries, bacon jerky, drinks copious amounts of caffeine, fries waffles, sausages and hashbrowns for breakfast*.
The irony is lost totally.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.
I can see it here all the time .,, the biggest hindrances to even beginning to heal is the lack of even considering the miraculous works of God in Christ by grace through faith over the "facts" of the life we live on planet earth with it's 1+1=2 equations. The whole issue about healing and anything that concerns our faith in God is that He can do all things and will do all things and go far and above what we can ask or even think because of grace through faith in Christ and what He did in and for us.
The "Word" instructs and heals us so reading His Word and saying His Word so it becomes part of our thinking and being and depending. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the Word and of faith as we learn about grace. It's the gospel of grace and truth that Jesus brought. The battle is the good fight of faith. It's a mind and life change that is completely different than our usual life as humans. We are called to think unlike the rest of the world. Yet so many Christians see life as if we are just like the unsaved. We are not at all like the unsaved. Maybe on the outside we look like them but we are sons of God now with all the promises paid for by Jesus.
I have heard of people of great faith like Smith Wigglesworth who actually raised people from the dead. He took the Bible literally. We believers are instructed to go out there and heal the sick and raise the dead. I've scoffed at people who preached that for yeeeears. I believed they were crazy. I considered why would God want to have someone raised from the dead if they were in heaven already? Why would God make them come back here? It made no human sense. So I ignored such "nonsense" along with speaking in tongues and healing and miracles.
But the Bible says believers were raising people from the dead for "some" reason. So just because my little mind can't fathom why., doesn't change the facts that God does millions of things I will never understand this side of heaven.
But I believe above all the hindrances for healing is the fact that we don't believe God loves us so much that He wants to do far above all that we can ask or think. That He didn't just make us for His glory., He made us to enjoy us and for us to enjoy Him. We are not going to be playing harps in heaven when we get there. We will not be bored or dull or moody in heaven like we are here. We will be happy alllll the time. Doing exciting things and having a purpose that we will thrive on. And we will no longer need to have faith like we do here.
I've seen glimpses of it but the good fight of faith has to go on in order to see more of it in my daily life. This life has hindrances but none that can't be overcome with the grace of God in Christ.
The "trial of our faith" IS a trial. It means ignoring the sights and sounds and logic of this earthly life and daring to believe the miraculous even when it doesn't happen right away. But if we never dare to believe and persist in our faith., we will never see God do miraculous things in our lives or the lives of people we know.
Something that is very encouraging to me is that God doesn't expect perfection from me because He sees perfection in His Son. And Jesus gave me His perfection and I get all that He died to give me IF I dare to believe. The conditions in the old covenant was if we do this we get that. Now it's if we believe Jesus is worthy and makes us worthy., it is then we will see.
Humans have to "see" first in order to believe but God calls us to another way.... to believe His Son and the Word first., that He loves us graciously IN Christ. We have all things in Christ. It's not our worthiness but HIS and when we start looking at our lives that way., we will see Him do amazing things. Even when we are not perfectly faithful or perfectly good. It's when we count on His grace and believe that Jesus paid for our use of His grace that we will start to see Him work in our lives. When we are weak that is when we are really going to be strong.
The "Word" instructs and heals us so reading His Word and saying His Word so it becomes part of our thinking and being and depending. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the Word and of faith as we learn about grace. It's the gospel of grace and truth that Jesus brought. The battle is the good fight of faith. It's a mind and life change that is completely different than our usual life as humans. We are called to think unlike the rest of the world. Yet so many Christians see life as if we are just like the unsaved. We are not at all like the unsaved. Maybe on the outside we look like them but we are sons of God now with all the promises paid for by Jesus.
I have heard of people of great faith like Smith Wigglesworth who actually raised people from the dead. He took the Bible literally. We believers are instructed to go out there and heal the sick and raise the dead. I've scoffed at people who preached that for yeeeears. I believed they were crazy. I considered why would God want to have someone raised from the dead if they were in heaven already? Why would God make them come back here? It made no human sense. So I ignored such "nonsense" along with speaking in tongues and healing and miracles.
But the Bible says believers were raising people from the dead for "some" reason. So just because my little mind can't fathom why., doesn't change the facts that God does millions of things I will never understand this side of heaven.
But I believe above all the hindrances for healing is the fact that we don't believe God loves us so much that He wants to do far above all that we can ask or think. That He didn't just make us for His glory., He made us to enjoy us and for us to enjoy Him. We are not going to be playing harps in heaven when we get there. We will not be bored or dull or moody in heaven like we are here. We will be happy alllll the time. Doing exciting things and having a purpose that we will thrive on. And we will no longer need to have faith like we do here.
I've seen glimpses of it but the good fight of faith has to go on in order to see more of it in my daily life. This life has hindrances but none that can't be overcome with the grace of God in Christ.
The "trial of our faith" IS a trial. It means ignoring the sights and sounds and logic of this earthly life and daring to believe the miraculous even when it doesn't happen right away. But if we never dare to believe and persist in our faith., we will never see God do miraculous things in our lives or the lives of people we know.
Something that is very encouraging to me is that God doesn't expect perfection from me because He sees perfection in His Son. And Jesus gave me His perfection and I get all that He died to give me IF I dare to believe. The conditions in the old covenant was if we do this we get that. Now it's if we believe Jesus is worthy and makes us worthy., it is then we will see.
Humans have to "see" first in order to believe but God calls us to another way.... to believe His Son and the Word first., that He loves us graciously IN Christ. We have all things in Christ. It's not our worthiness but HIS and when we start looking at our lives that way., we will see Him do amazing things. Even when we are not perfectly faithful or perfectly good. It's when we count on His grace and believe that Jesus paid for our use of His grace that we will start to see Him work in our lives. When we are weak that is when we are really going to be strong.
Last edited:
I'll share my thoughts and experiences (probably tomorrow) but for now just wanted to share something...
When I was young our pastor committed adultery with someone in the church. It wasn't an ongoing affair, but rather a one time event (still sinful), where he gave in to the temptation. He got her pregnant and then decided to resign as pastor. Not long after this happened he got testicular cancer. I always wondered if this was God punishing him since it seemed to fit with what he had done. No idea. He backslid for a while after that. I think he also struggled to forgive himself too. Very sad.
There were other sinful things going on in that church. It was like the devil was playing lots of games. One of the elders was stealing money, and him and his wife were causing conflict in the church. At the time my mother was new to the faith, but really on fire, and God was using her in a big way... lots of people were getting saved and as a result there was a lot of jealousy. They couldn't understand why God was hardly using them as mature believers, but yet He was using my mother as a baby christian. She was humble and felt victimized by some in the church. There were other things going on too.
Anyway, that elder suddenly died. It was as if he were the main stumbling block in the church that was being removed, perhaps. And at the same time the other elder's wife left him for another man, also abandoning their 3 children. So both were left without their spouse, the spouses that had been causing the main issues in the church.
Looking on it did seem like their suffering was a result of their disobedience... they suffered sickness, death and loss. So I believe this was God chastening His children. The two that suffered a loss became very humble in the end, and stronger in their faith. I have no idea what happened to the pastor.
I'm not saying that someone who gets sick is being punished. Not at all. My father is a cancer survivor even. Rather I'm just saying that I believe God could choose to make someone sick as part of His chastening. I believe He may have in this church I grew up in.
But I'll post again as there is more to this topic than what I've shared. I've only covered God's chastening as one of them.
When I was young our pastor committed adultery with someone in the church. It wasn't an ongoing affair, but rather a one time event (still sinful), where he gave in to the temptation. He got her pregnant and then decided to resign as pastor. Not long after this happened he got testicular cancer. I always wondered if this was God punishing him since it seemed to fit with what he had done. No idea. He backslid for a while after that. I think he also struggled to forgive himself too. Very sad.
There were other sinful things going on in that church. It was like the devil was playing lots of games. One of the elders was stealing money, and him and his wife were causing conflict in the church. At the time my mother was new to the faith, but really on fire, and God was using her in a big way... lots of people were getting saved and as a result there was a lot of jealousy. They couldn't understand why God was hardly using them as mature believers, but yet He was using my mother as a baby christian. She was humble and felt victimized by some in the church. There were other things going on too.
Anyway, that elder suddenly died. It was as if he were the main stumbling block in the church that was being removed, perhaps. And at the same time the other elder's wife left him for another man, also abandoning their 3 children. So both were left without their spouse, the spouses that had been causing the main issues in the church.
Looking on it did seem like their suffering was a result of their disobedience... they suffered sickness, death and loss. So I believe this was God chastening His children. The two that suffered a loss became very humble in the end, and stronger in their faith. I have no idea what happened to the pastor.
I'm not saying that someone who gets sick is being punished. Not at all. My father is a cancer survivor even. Rather I'm just saying that I believe God could choose to make someone sick as part of His chastening. I believe He may have in this church I grew up in.
But I'll post again as there is more to this topic than what I've shared. I've only covered God's chastening as one of them.
Last edited:
Joh 10:10 The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Jesus did give reasons to some why they were sick. But, He healed all that had faith and went to Him.
Only unbelief kept Him from healing in places.
Sorry guys...it's His Word, not mine.
Jesus did give reasons to some why they were sick. But, He healed all that had faith and went to Him.
Only unbelief kept Him from healing in places.
Sorry guys...it's His Word, not mine.
Stones,
You should read all of John 9 and then to John 10.10 to understand who Jesus was talking about in this verse.
Jesus was talking to the pharisees in most of John 10 and not his followers.
The overt thief in this verse is not Satan, it is religion, the covert thief is Satan who uses religion to steal, kill and destroy.
This has really nothing much to do about healing, etc.
You should read all of John 9 and then to John 10.10 to understand who Jesus was talking about in this verse.
Jesus was talking to the pharisees in most of John 10 and not his followers.
The overt thief in this verse is not Satan, it is religion, the covert thief is Satan who uses religion to steal, kill and destroy.
This has really nothing much to do about healing, etc.
I don't personally.
I preached this once as religion and saw first hand how it helped a church crush the spirit of religion that had strangled it.
I preached that same message for months and many people were set free from religious spirits.
This is because I do not preach that thief is Satan that wants and has taken your stuff. I preached it in context with John 9, which involves a discourse on healing, and that religion robs people of their vision and oyu must become blind to see.
When folks heard religion comes to steal, kill and destroy and how it does that. The churches and people repented and those places are on fire for God, being led by the Spirit, etc.
I preached this once as religion and saw first hand how it helped a church crush the spirit of religion that had strangled it.
I preached that same message for months and many people were set free from religious spirits.
This is because I do not preach that thief is Satan that wants and has taken your stuff. I preached it in context with John 9, which involves a discourse on healing, and that religion robs people of their vision and oyu must become blind to see.
When folks heard religion comes to steal, kill and destroy and how it does that. The churches and people repented and those places are on fire for God, being led by the Spirit, etc.
