Does God Heal? - John G. Lake

Does God heal?
This is an age-old question.
The miracles of Jesus have been the battleground of the centuries.
Millions declare that God does heal the sick. Millions scorn the assertion.
"Go into all the world, and proclaim the Gospel," said Jesus.
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues... they shall lay hands of the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:17-18).The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). If His gospel was true then, it is true now.
His disciples healed the sick then (Luke 10). His disciples on the Christians in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. This power is still available. Healings are just as certain in Sacramento [or Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, BC] today as they were in Judea then.
It is said that many of those who would bring the joyful message of salvation and healing to the public have obscured the vision and darkened the simple sweet truths with a blare of trumpets, and the din of sensationalism. The public has listened, pondered and in many cases turned away disgusted.
However, truth is unalterable. God does heal today. Christ healed all that came to Him 2,000 years ago. He is still willing to heal all who come asking.
He is the same yesterday, today forever.

Taken out of a book of John G. Lake's sermons. (with additions :P :) ) 

Open up the Heavens?

So, yesterday we were watching Corner Gas (this goes out to you Nick Draper! Haha jk xD).

But yeah, we were watching the show, and there was one scene in the episode we were watching that went something like this:

*Karen and Davis are playing rock paper scissors*

*Davis plays rock, Karen plays paper*

David: "Ha! I win!"

Karen: "... paper covers rock..."

Davis: "rock flattens paper!"

Karen: "... paper's already flat..."

Brent: "I've made that keen observation."

So, stepping aside from that for a second, this morning when I woke up, I had part of a song in my head (of which, in retrospect, I can't figure out how it got there; I haven't heard it in months).

Anyways the lyrics I had in my head went like this:

"Open up,

Open up,

Open up the heavens."

After those lines played through in my head a couple times, that scene from Corner Gas popped into my head, but it sent more like this:

Person 1: "Open up, open up, open up the heavens!"

Person 2: "... heaven's already open..."

Me: "I've made that keen observation."

Lol, it made me laugh when I thought of it. I wonder how often we sing songs asking God to do something (like opening heaven, sending revival, or giving us something), and He's trying to say back to us, "I've already given you everything in Jesus. Stop asking me to do what I've already done and what I've told you to do, and start walking in what I've given you."

Just my thoughts this morning xD

Heaven is open for us, ever since Christ died for us and the veil was torn! :D

Don't Go to Church

So, let me be completely honest for a minute:

I think I'm getting to the point where "attractional ministry" is a foreign concept to me.

Like, you know the whole thing where you invite people to church, cause that's where they'll hear about God? Or, that's where they'll find support? 

Or, (and this is the one that did it for me) that's where the epic preacher that'll be doing a healing and Baptism of the Holy Spirit talk and ministry time will be ("so come and get healed")?

Man, I used to have the concept down pat: "People need to hear about God. People need to get healed and Baptized in the Holy Spirit. People need 'fellowship'. There's a dude at that building that will be talking about God, and giving an alter call for people to be healed and Baptized in the Holy Spirit, and there are other people there to 'fellowship' with. So, let's get everyone to 'go to church', and everything will be good! :)"

Everything was figured out :P

Then God goes and takes me on this epic ride of these past few months.

He goes and shows me that WE can lay hands on the sick, command the sickness to leave, and it must leave.
He showed me that WE can minister the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to others if it's something they want and are willing to receive. All we/they need to do is ask for it, and walk in what God gives.
He's showing me that if someone needs to hear a word from God, often (since we're God's sons/daughters, and we're there and see the problem) God's got something for US to say that'll show God's love in that situation (and often, better than a general, "for everyone" word that a pastor gives on a Sunday morning can do).

The church is not a building.
You are the church.

This thing is not about "inviting people to church". 

It's about this: Wherever you and I go, we expose the glory, grace, and love of God to everyone we come in contact with, just like Jesus did, and we destroy the works of the devil as we go - whether sickness and disease, depression and condemnation, or slavery and malnutrition - just like Jesus did. Anything that doesn't look like heaven, we change it by the power of Christ in us.

You don't need to invite someone to a building for them to receive from God.
You - yes, YOU! - are fully equipped to reveal God in every situation you're in.

You see cancer? Kill it. (Matt 10:8)

You see depression and hate? Show them God's peace and love.
You see poverty? Give what you've got, knowing God will provide for you. (Matt 6)

Quit thinking you need something more before you can serve God. That's the hugest lie of life.


I'll leave you with the text I saw on a t-shirt a while ago, which pretty much summarizes what I've been trying to say :P

Front: "DON'T GO TO CHURCH"
Back: "BE THE CHURCH
CAUTION: SIGNS WILL FOLLOW THOSE WHO BELIEVE
And these SIGNS WILL FOLLOW THOSE WHO BELIEVE: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. Mark 16:17-18"

Love you guys!





DISCLAIMER!!!!
PLEASE READ BEFORE YELLING AT ME ;)
I'm not saying you should stop meeting with other Christians. I'm not saying you should stop meeting in a building and worshiping God together or any of that.
I'm saying "WE ARE the CHURCH".
When I hear "I'm going to church now", it's gotten to the point where that statement confuses me.
How can you go to something you are?
We are the church, so be it wherever you are.
We don't turn in on and off for Sunday morning and Wednesday evening.
We live it 24/7/365.


Ok, now you can yell if you still want to :P :)

Quote from Ryan Rhoades' upcoming book "Why Revival Really Tarries"

I'm pumped to read the whole book, so I thought I'd post a quote from it that was made availible a few months back:

I propose to you that the reason “revival” really tarries is not because there aren’t enough people “crying out to God” or because there’s so much sin in the land.

I believe 100% of the reason that “revival” really tarries is because we have an entire generation of Christians who look nothing like Christ and have little to no clue what He actually did on the cross for them.

When you really begin to understand the work that Christ did on the cross, it absolutely sets you free and you can’t help but share this amazingly Good News Gospel with everyone you talk to!

People are healed, oppressive, tormenting demons are cast out, sin loses its grip on people who have struggled with it for decades…and believers are empowered as they realize that God has completely done His part and is now waiting on the Church to arise and take dominion over the works of the devil on this planet.

I submit to you that one of the largest problems and hindrances to “revival” in the church today is that there is an entire generation of Christians “crying out to God” to come be with and forgive them when they already have Him and they’re already forgiven…

...all the while ignoring the very real cries of the lost ones around them who do not have God and desperately need to be made aware that sin has been atoned for in the Person of Jesus Christ, that there is a way that they can be truly set free NOW—from sin, sickness, torment, and yes, even death (Matthew 10:7-8).

"The Santa Clause 3" and the Gospel

So, I was watching "The Santa Clause 3 - The Escape Clause" today, and there was a part I really connected with that I thought I'd share :) 

(If you haven't seen it, this may not make any sense. But, yeah :P )

Ok, so you know the part where Scott ends up in the north pole after Jack Frost has taken over and made it all commercially focused and such?

Scott walks around, and sees all the crap going on. He sees people arguing over toys and t-shirts, and fighting to get on rides. Adults are rushing to get through the line so they and their kids can take part in the attractions and spend money on souvenirs. In the mean time, the elvs are exhausted and exasperated with doing stuff they were never meant to do (managing the kiosks and attractions, being "attractions" themselves, and trying to manage the endless crowds).

The camera points to Scott as he looks around, and you can tell what he's thinking: "Awe man... look what's come of this thing. It used to be such a beautiful thing. Look at the elvs -- they're supposed to be helpers and toy makers; not sideshows and crowd pleasers. Look at the reindeer -- they were supposed to fly around and be cared for when they're at rest; not to be used as petting booth attractions, stuck in tight wooden stalls,  having nasty hay stuffed in their faces 12 hours a day. This thing has become something SOO far from what it was supposed to be..." 

Everyone is completely missing the point of what the north pole was originally designed to be about, and none of them can see it! Scott is the only one there that has any idea what the real thing was designed to be like...

Let me be honest for a sec here: I couldn't help but link that scene to some of the things I've seen the modern, North American church system. 

I've been in a pretty decent number of churches in the past few months, in several different towns and cities across the province, and there's a lot of times lately that I've felt like Scott did there.

I've seen a little bit of what the gospel can look like apart from all the events, traditions, and stresses we've taking on, thinking they're just part of the gospel. 
In the last few months, I've seen chronic leg pains leave instantly -- in a car, on the highway, traveling 100 km/h with a hitchhiker in the passenger seat of the car. I've seen inflamed kidney pain leave instantly at the name of Jesus -- on the sidewalk in front of our house while chatting with a friend. I've seen short legs grow out while just hanging out with some friends. And plenty of other things in-between, from Jesus touching the heart of the old lady with the walker (bringing her to tears), to seeing some teenage friends finally work up the nerve to go talk to the homeless guy on the park bench in the city, and love him like Jesus did.



Having seen all these things, I find I often walk into different Christian places and think "Wow, this is not how this thing was meant to work at all..."
I see and hear of the events, the attractions, and the show that's being set up, and I can't help but notice the weary Christians walking around, exhausted and exasperated with doing stuff they were never meant to do.
I see the stressing and arguing and rushing from event to event, and I think "Wow... This thing has become something SOO far from what it was supposed to be..."



Then, the worst part about it, is it seems like no one sees it! In most cases, they've been in that environment for so long, that they think that's just how it's supposed to be. 


I must admit that on some occasions, I feel like I may be the only one that has any idea what the real thing is supposed to be like (in some specific incidences, I am; though I'm learning to remember there are other rebels out there that God is rising up. We're not alone. 
You're not alone.)

There is hope. 


Unfortunately, however, there isn't any magic snow globe that will reverse time and reset the system to the way God designed it to be. We're going to have to go about this transformation a little differently. And, to be completely honest again, I don't exactly know what that will look like. 
It will happen though. Jesus is coming back for a Church that looks like Him -- a bride without spot or blemish. The church I see right now needs a bit of work before it will fit that bill, but it will get there. 
It may take one elf at a time standing up and saying, "THINGS NEED TO CHANGE!!!" or it may happen nuclear style -- God revealing to millions of Christians that change needs to happen now -- but until it's done, we stand for truth and don't conform to what we see. We only conform to the image of the One who chose us.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."


Love you guys.

My First Time Picking Up a Hitch Hiker/The Fastest Healing I've Seen Yet: 100km/h

So, this past Tuesday I was in Saskatoon working with my cousin and her husband on a website project that he had asked me to help with. (We had been working on the entire project since Friday morning, and we had just put the finishing touches on the site that morning (till roughly 1:30 am :P) .)

So, after being able to catch up on a few hours sleep, I started heading out of town and stopped by my cousin's work so we could do a little debrief.

After that, I started heading back to Lanigan, thinking everything was basically done for the weekend and things would be calm for an hour or so. I put on some music, turned onto highway 16, and started on the hour and a quarter drive home.

Anyways, about 5-10 min out of the city, I see a hitchhiker on the road about 3/4 of a km up the highway. I watched to see which direction he was walking, and realized he was walking the same way I was driving. In about a 3 second time span, a whole discussion worth of thoughts raced through my head. They went something like this: "Oh, look a hitchhiker! How nice. I'll smile and wave at him like Jesus would.

Wait a second... If someone was in need, Jesus wouldn't just leave them like they were. He gave them hope, helped them out of where they were, or healed them, depending on what they needed.... I guess Jesus would probably pick up this hitchhiker.

Well, I wish I could pick him up, but I got too much stuff with me... he'd never fit in my car... *glances over to the passenger seat and realizes it's completely empty and that there's more than enough room in the back seat for the backpack the guy had with him*... Oh, I guess he would fit. 

But wait, I've heard stories of hitchhikers that cut off the driver's heads and stuff like that... what if he's got a knife with him?

Hmm, maybe if he did pull a knife, I could punch him out before he could stab me. um... actually... no... that wouldn't work...OH RIGHT! Jesus is with me! He'll protect me... and even if he doesn't, I'll go straight to be with him... win win :)

Hmm, I still don't know though! should I do it or not?"

By this time, I had basically passed the guy, and already I knew I needed to pick the guy up...

So, almost involuntarily, I pulled over to the side of the road, and backed up a bit so the guy could get in my car.

(I will admit that when the guy walked up to the door, one thought that crossed my mind was "Oh crap, he's gunna kill -me"... but I brushed that off as quickly as I could :P...)

Anyways I open the door, and the guy's like "Hey, I'm Mike". 

I replied, "Hey Mike, I'm Josh. Nice to meet you."

Then he asked, "Where ya going to?"

"Just to Lanigan," I answered.

"No way!" He said, "That's just where I need to go."

"Awesome," I said, "Hop in."

So he got in, and we kept going. We started chatting, and I found out he was working at the BHP mine site just outside of Leroy, and was staying at the campsite on the north side of Lanigan. He asked me what I did for work, and I said that I had been teaching some guitar lessons, doing some tutoring, and lots of other random jobs as they came up...

We chatted about some other random stuff for a bit, then he asked me what kind of music I play and listen to.

So I told him that usually I play worship/church type music, but sometimes jam to other stuff too. So then he started asking about church and stuff like that. I mentioned Street Invaders, and how I've seen people's lives being changed through that, and some of the other things God has been showing me over the past while about denominations and divisions in the church, and stuff like that...He then asked me on my opinions on some religious and political things, and we chatted about that stuff for a while.

It was a good conversation, and if it had ended there, I would have enjoyed the ride; but God had something way cooler in store. :)

After talking about Islam, JW, Mormons, racism, and all that fun stuff, the conversation kinda died down for a few seconds. Then he said something like, "Aw man, I'm so glad you picked me up when you did. I've had this horrible pain in my leg for the past few months, and it was starting to flair up and get nasty just a couple minutes before you pulled up. I think if I had had to go a few more miles on it, I would have been in big trouble." 

I asked him if it was like a shin splint, or what, and he said that it felt kind of like a shin splint, but hurt a lot worse, and was more on the side of his leg then the front.

Then I said, "Ah, man that sucks."

He went on to explain that when he and his family had been in Mexico the week before, it was hurting so bad that he'd often have to sit down and put ice on it to numb down the pain. He said it had been bugging him for a while, and he had no idea what was causing it...

At that point, I said to him, "Hey, wanna see something cool?"

"uhh.... sure", he said, slightly confused, but surprisingly trusting.

So I reached my hand over the shifter and put it on his leg where he had pointed to the pain before, and started to say "In the name of Jesus, I..." . And he moved my hand over and said, "No, it's hurting over here".

I smiled, and said ok. Then continued, saying, "In the name of Jesus, I command all pain to leave this leg right now. All aching and discomfort, I command you to leave. Leg, I command you to be perfectly healed, right now, in Jesus' name."

I took my hand off his leg, and said, "How's that?"

He moved his leg around and kinda rubbed it. Then his jaw dropped and he looked at me and said, "HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!?!"

He looked back at his leg, felt it, moved it around, then said, "It's perfect! There's absolutely no pain! How did you do that?!?" 

I smiled and replied "Jesus loves you dude :)"

"Wow," he said, "I went to church for a few months years ago, and I never saw anything like this!"

At that point I felt sad (and angry) that we've propagated doctrines that keep people from seeing this type of thing happen, and that so many people like Mike have never seen the power of the Gospel at work. (How could they, when what we propagate as the entirety of the "Christian life" is going to a building every weekend early in the morning, sitting when we're supposed to sit, standing when we're supposed to stand, singing three songs, and listening to a dude with a paper on his wall talk for 15-45 minutes, then go home completely unchanged and having not seen God do anything at all?

(No offence whatsoever to my friends with aforementioned papers on your wall.... this is just what's on my heart))

We kept taking, and he shared about a work injury he had had a few months before, his recovery from that, and some other parts of his life.

About 15 minutes later, he said, "Wow, I keep trying to move my leg to see if I can feel the pain again, but I can't! Will this stay good, or is it going to start feeling crappy in a week or two?"I said, "Well, if it does come back, just tell it to leave in Jesus' name. It says by His stripes we were healed. That means he's payed for it. That means it being there is illegal. All you need to do is tell it to leave in his name, and it has to...." 

We eventually pulled into Lanigan. Mike offered to give me some money for gas, and I said my gas for the trip was already covered, so it's all good.

I dropped him off at the BHP campsite, gave him my cell number for if he ever wanted to get together and get coffee, then said good bye and God bless, and went home.

So, yeah, that's my story...

This Gospel is awesome guys! :D

~