February 2010

Healing Life

Psalm 107:20 ‘He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave.’
Proverbs 4:20-22
This month we want to look at how life brings healing, Life is expressed through the bible by love, love by God and, for us today through Jesus and the Holy Spirit we can have life and love to bring the healing we need.
Psalm 147:3

Indeed it is a knowledge of what Jesus did for us that helps us to be free.
John 8:32 ‘Then you will know the truth and the truth set you free.’
John 8:36 ‘So if the Son sets you free you will be free indeed.’
Galatians 5:1 ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

What is this yoke? Isaiah 61:1-3, Matthew 11:28-32 : Isaiah 10:27
Well in the scripture Paul was telling the Galatian church to stand free from sin.
In Romans 6:23 ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ This verse really sums up our opening statement.

Death is the opposite of life. Satan has no intention for us to live, his work is to destroy and we can see from his first encounter with Eve in Genesis, right up to today as we look around us Satan has got us hooked into believing that death is the way. It is a lie!
Jesus said: ‘I am the way, and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through Me.’ [John 14:6]

Death is not merely the end, Satan has no intention of letting you enjoy a great universal get out clause. No death is the destruction of the quality of life. Look at your own physical bodies, we are demonstrating in this world right now the immense power of death.
Death is hatred - Satan is death. What hope then?
Well the opposite has to be said:
Death is hatred - Satan is death, therefore:
Life is love - Jesus is life : John 10:10
Psalm 30:1-3

I want to tell you today that God created man because of love and breathed life into his body - Genesis 2:7 ‘The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.’
Life is Gods intention not death. In Genesis 1 we see creation as an act of bringing forth life and seeing it was good. Genesis 1:27 ‘So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.’
In verse 28 God blesses man and tells him to be fruitful, and in verse 31 God looks over all He has created and saw that it was very good.

Death was ultimately defeated on the cross. As we know and scripture confirms God was displeased at the destruction of all that He had created and needed to do something about it. Mankind was lost, bitter and getting more and more into the downward spiral of hopelessness. We were seeming to lose the ability to pray and to call out to God. God had to intervene Himself.
Isaiah 63:5 ‘I looked but there was no-one to help, I was appalled that no-one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.’

God needed to act not just for those holy and righteous ones, but for the sake of all mankind. John 3:16 look at the motive LOVE look at the result LIFE
Jesus was sent into this world to bring about life and re-establish God’s love to a dying and desperate world. Indeed this scripture in 2 Corinthians sums up Jesus ministry on earth
2 Corinthians 5:21 ‘God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.’

Because literally God died, to take our sin which leads to death
1 Peter 2:24 ‘He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so we might die to sin and live to righteousness, by His wounds you have been healed.’
We have to value and place hope in the life which has been given back to us. There are too many people in the world who have had their hearts hardened to the Gospel of God because they want cheap thrills now. Whilst they enjoy themselves in carnal and worldly pleasures, disease and sickness encroach a sad and woeful world. Not the picture of Genesis 1 where God created everything and saw that it was Good.

Hebrews 2:14 -15 ‘Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by death He might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is the devil- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
John 6:68 ‘You have he words of eternal life.’
Jesus has done the work for us, now by our words and actions we have a choice. Both for healing life eternally and here on earth.
Life is a desire brought through love. ‘Greater love has no-one than this, that He lay down his life for his friends.’ John 15:13.

I tell you this in some cultures they say ‘a life for a life’ Well you have had it; God gave His life now why are you not having yours?

Psalm 103:1-6: Jesus’ job description.
We do not need to

fear, If we choose life and bless the God of life we can be over-comers against the destructive nature of death.
2 Timothy 1:7 ‘For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.’ Romans 8:15

Psalm 139:14 ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.’

The book of 1 John makes some interesting points the first of course is contained in 1 John 4:16 ‘God is Love’ ‘Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him.’

1 John 4:18 ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears has not been made perfect in love.’

Life is our most valued possession and we have a desire in-built within for God to bless us with a long life.

Psalm 118-17-18 ‘I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely but he has not given me over to death.’

Our proclamation must confirm what scripture says: ‘For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.’ Hebrews 4:12

Psalm 91:14-16 ‘Because he loves Me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My Name. He will call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.’
Psalm 34:17-19

Deuteronomy 8:3 ‘He humbled you causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manner, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.’

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 ‘This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’

John 10:10 ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I come that they may have life and have it to the full.’
Psalm 116:7-9
John 10:28 ‘I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.’

1 John 5:12 ‘He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.’

John 11:25-26 ‘Jesus said to her ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?

John 6:35 ‘Then Jesus declared ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’

If Jesus is the Bread of Life we need to feed on Him. God’s love is assured He cannot lie. He proved His love by sending Jesus. Then we will find the peace we need.
Proverbs 14:30, John 14:27

John 5:24 ‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed over from death to life.’

We believe not just for eternal life but for life now. Death has lost its sting. Let us appreciate life and trust God for the life and love His healing brings. It is our choice!
Jeremiah 17:14, Jeremiah 30:17.

 

These awesome promises and visions of what we are to share in for all eternity. The sad things is is in part we can have these things now, yet we seem reluctant to grasp the truth of it. Life Now ..... Yes please Jesus

Maybe you have realised that you need to be released from the power of death and depression and enter into God's way of Life. If you have not invited Jesus into your heart this would be your first step.

Jesus says in John 14:6 'I am the way and the truth and the life, No-one comes to the Father except through Me'

Peter said of Jesus
'You have the words of eternal life' John 6:68

The Lord Jesus is ready to help you as soon as you ask to know Him as Lord. Jesus Christ has paid for your sin, my sin and every ones sin by living a life free from sin and dying in our place so that we might know forgiveness of sin, and freedom eternally from the power of death and fear.

The bible says in Romans 10:9-10 'If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.'

Remember you can only deal with your own sin. Everyone has to answer to God for what they have done, but God is merciful and will forgive them too, when they are ready to come to Him. He will always accept you, and makes you the offer now of real, genuine love and resurrection life.

You need to say sorry to God for having offended Him by your sinful actions, and choose to walk in His ways instead. Ask Him to forgive you for your sins, repent of your sins and tell God you need His help to stop living in a way that pleases you, and tell him you want to live to please Him.

Invite Jesus Christ to come and be Lord of your life. Thank Him that He has bought you back from the road of darkness and destruction by giving His life for you, and releasing you from the burdens of rejection, guilt and shame. Bringing you fully into His wonderful light. Thank Jesus for this, and acknowledge His death and resurrection and ask His Holy Spirit to come into you right now and give you the power to change and you will find real acceptance in Him and He himself will show you the way forward.

Next step is to tell someone you have received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour and find a church that really loves Jesus and lives for Him.

It will not be easy but will be the greatest and most joyful decision you have ever made.

If you have made this decision today E.Mail us and we will send you a Gospel of John and some helps to get you started in your new and exciting walk with Jesus.