Peace, Joy, and Bad Medicine – A Fine Line Between Healing and Heresy Purity 725

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a silhouette of children frolicking on the shores of Point Dume Beach under the glory of a California sun comes to us from my sister-in-law Megan, who captured this magnificent shot while visiting friends in Malibu. Well, it's Saturday, and it is my prayer that all my friends find some fun in the sun this weekend if the circumstances allow it, but I would also like to assure you that no matter what the weather is like where you are, you can find peace and joy when you walk in the Spirit. Peace and joy are two of the fruit of the Spirit, and although my assurance may sound rather Pollyanna-ish, or too good to be true, the words of Jesus Christ and the apostles in the Bible indicate that when we have faith in Christ and therefore receive the Holy Spirit, and we make the daily decision to abide in Christ and obediently follow His wisdom for living, we can have peace and joy. Jesus said in John 14:26-27, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Jesus also said in John 15:9-11, As the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. And finally, Jesus assured us in John 16:33 by saying, These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Now, those statements of Jesus that indicate we can have peace and joy are conditional statements. The Holy Spirit's presence in our lives requires the condition of faith in Jesus. God the Father will send him in Jesus' name, after all. And the peace we have in Christ is not as the world gives peace. The world's peace is circumstantial and fleeting. But somehow, in Christ, even if we suffer and go through tribulation, we can still be of good cheer and have peace because, because Christ overcame the world. Jesus also advised us to abide in His love and to keep His commandments so His joy would remain in us. His joy can remain and fill us with joy, but His words indicate that we are to abide in His presence and maintain a harmonious relationship with God by agreeing with Him in the way we behave by keeping His commandments. In a recent class I attended on Christian doctrine, the presenter stated that there was a difference between knowing the truth of our faith and practicing our faith. Just knowing the basic facts of the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the principles of Christian living is one thing, but applying that knowledge to our lives personally in faith and in practice is quite another, and the difference can be experienced. I knew the basic facts of Christianity for most of my life, but it was only after I put my faith in Christ, made Him my Lord and Savior, and decided to follow Him by actually living according to His wisdom and ways that I was able to experience the peace and joy that go beyond all understanding. And trust me, I experienced quite a bit of suffering and tribulations in the 12 years since I said the prayer that surrendered my life to the Lordship of Christ. Frankly, I have had a lot to learn and continue to learn about living by my Christian faith. But as I have, but as I have continued to stay true to my commitment to follow the Lord's call in my life by trying to abide in the Lord's presence and be obedient to His commandments, I have learned that the peace and joy that come from the Lord can be experienced even during the toughest times of our lives. The peace and joy of the Lord are not affected by the changing circumstances of the world around us, but require us to stay with Him and to follow Him. Our walk does not have to be perfect, it just has to be continuous, go in the direction the Lord would lead us, and, and remain in His presence. As I sat down to write this message this morning, there was a burden on my heart as I considered some of the differences that can exist in what we believe as Christians across the wide spectrum of Christianity. I originally sat down with the intention to share my two cents about some teaching regarding receiving your healing I recently came across that deeply disturbs me. But I have decided to chillax a bit anyway. I might decide to grind that ax someday, but I have decided to lay it down today because I haven't the develop my thoughts on the matter fully, and I thought that my words of criticism could cause division in the body of Christ. I may disagree with a certain author's theories on healing, and mean really disagree, but I know that the Lord as our Sovereign God and Creator is the author of all healing and continues to confound our understanding of why or how things happen in this world. And in the area of healing. The author's basic intention was to encourage Christians to pray to God for healing, and in that I cannot disagree. While only the Lord's plan will be done in matters of how prayer— prayers are answered, we still have to ask and trust the Lord— trust that the Lord will do what is right, even if we can't understand how or why things work out the way that we— the way they do. Um, and while this unnamed author's use of scripture seemed misguided and out of context, his methodology was questionable, his theory seemed positively inane, and his claims of being able to control the reception of healing was over the top and quite frankly what I considered to be blasphemous and heretical by subscribing to the word of faith heresy that treats God like a divine slot machine that just needs to be properly manipulated in order to get what we want, I cannot say that you should not pray for healing. I know too many people who have prayed and who have been healed, including myself. But when we think that we just have to follow a certain prayer recipe to make the Lord do our will on earth, we cross the line from asking for healing to speaking heresy. We don't pull healing or transfer healing out of our spirits through an act of our will as this author stated we did. If we believe that, we will have a hard time having peace or joy when our faith isn't strong enough to give us our miracle. No, like Christ's prayer in Luke 22:42 where he said, Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will be, but yours be done. God's will is what will come to pass, not ours. We will not get everything we want in life. We don't know what cup of suffering we may have to drink, and we really don't know if our healing is the Lord's will or not. We should ask for it, we should pray to God for it, but like Jesus, we must accept the cup that the Father gives us to drink. In our efforts to push our desires or personal agendas, we may be going against God's will for our lives, and although we can boldly fight against what we do not want, we may find ourselves being rebuked by the Lord. John 18:11 says: So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into the sheath; shall I not drink the cup which my Father has given me?" Peter tried to resist and fight the power, and as noble as his cause seemed, it was misguided. So trust in the Lord, find the peace and joy that He has for you by abiding in His presence, walking in the Spirit, obeying His commandments, and accepting the cup that He has given you to drink. If our peace and joy depend on good health, prosperity, and positive earthly circumstances, we will be sorely disappointed in times of suffering and tribulations. But when we accept who we are in Christ, accept what the Lord has for us, and keep walking and talking with God, we can find peace in the storm and joy in the morning, uh, after the dark night of the soul. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. So find peace joy regardless of your circumstances in him today. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is Ephesians 3:20. Now all glory to God, who is able through his mighty power at work within us to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or or think. Today's Bible verse gives us great hope because it speaks of the power God has given us to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. As Christians, the power in us is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and even though it might not be a miraculous gift of physical healing that will work through us, uh, the Lord blesses us in our walks of faith to accomplish infinitely more than we might have thought possible. Through the practice of our faith, the fruits of our patience and self-control grow. Through the strength we receive from the Holy Spirit, we can persevere and change how we respond to life's problems. The fact that we are progressing and living a righteous life through the application of biblical wisdom is more than we could ever hope to accomplish before we put our faith in Christ. While seeing signs, wonders, and miracles might not be in the offering every day, because let us face it, even in Scripture they were rare, the fact that we are following the Lord and doing good works to share His love and to share the Gospel is much more than we could, could think we would do before coming to Christ. So, as much as we want miracles, let us remember the miraculous work that the Lord has done in us by bringing us from death to life. And let's give glory to God by representing him on the earth, by faithfully conforming ourselves to the image of Christ, and by accomplishing things that will advance his kingdom cause. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life. And today's sections, the topics are: All You Need to Do His Will and Be Happy Forever, I Can Do All Things Through Christ, Even Starve, The Far Side of Every Risk: Triumphant Love, and How Can It Get Better Than Being Conquerors? So, and, and one more, it says, The Only Road That Leads to Lasting Joy. So So if you want to know the only road that leads to lasting joy and to see what Piper has to say about those other topics under which he writes, go to mtforchrist.org to check out that resource at the end of today's blog post. Oh, it's Saturday, and I pray for, for all of my friends and listeners and brothers and sisters in Christ to have a great day, great weekend. Um, today we'll be celebrating, uh, my stepdaughter Rachel's return home, um, and, uh, eventual— and, uh, it's bittersweet because she'll be shipped out next week to Japan where she'll be for 3 years according to her orders. Um, so we seek to give her peace, to give her joy, uh, in the circumstances of being with her mother today and her family. And, you know, that's something we can remember, is that through our faith in Christ, if we have peace and joy, we can share it with others by giving a kind word, by doing good works. You know, that's the things that we could, you know, that we can accomplish that might be more than we could ever think or ask. It is the simple movements of us through the world as Christians to impact the environments around us. And you know, when we can bring peace where there is strife, where we can bring joy where there is sadness, that is the power of God working through us. And you know, when people need healing but do not receive it, they still need the hope that lasts beyond this life. The hope of Jesus Christ. You know, all of— you know, because of the state, fallen state of the world, mankind is destined to die. And but, you know, we don't have to worry, as Christ said in his word, that he overcame the world. And, you know, he promised that he goes before us and to prepare a place for us on the other side. And Scripture gives us the great, great hope that this whole system, this whole way of the world will change in the future when Christ returns, where there will be no more weeping and no more death. That's going to be a different— that's talking about a game changer. That's going to change everything. So we can find peace and joy in that. And accept our cup. We do not know how long we are going to live, we do not know if we will be here when Christ returns, but we can have joy and peace in the moment knowing that we are with Him and He is with us at all times and in all circumstances, and that occasionally He will do the miraculous in our lives. So we should pray, we should ask, we should seek, and we should knock. Because the door might be opened, and on the other side of it is usually something pretty amazing. Um, you know, so, so be of good cheer, for Christ has overcome the world. And, um, you know, God is working all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. So go out there today and seek your purpose, even if it is just to get some rest. And to bask in the love that he's given you. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Thank you for a day off from work for me and for all my friends who are enjoying it. Thank you for the jobs that, that some of my friends have to work today. At least it provides for us, and we're doing the right thing by, uh, by being responsible and working. Um, Lord, we pray for, um, everyone listening today. Lord, we thank you for their presence. We thank you for their the hope they have in you and for their intention to follow you all the days of their lives. Lord, we pray for the healing that only you can bring. We pray for the, the blessings that we, we never could expect and never think for, even ask for. But, but let us ask if it's on our hearts, and let us receive whatever it is you have. Um, for us with, with, with peace and joy. Um, Lord, we just pray for you to go before us, to show us the good things you want us to see, to show us the things we need to know, and to lead us into the things you want us to do this weekend. Um, Lord, we thank you and we love you and we praise your name, and we pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.