Power: Faith and Healing

what do you think?

This month we would like to share about healing and the move of the Holy Spirit. From our many travels around the world and our gospel expeditions we have seen the mighty hand of the Lord work in wonderful and spectacular ways. We have been eyewitnesses of healings, deliverance's, and most of all the miracle of the new birth. Sometimes people ask us, "Why do we not see the same type of spectacular healing here in America as we hear about overseas?" This is a valid question, but unfortunately it leads some to question healing altogether. The answer to why this may occur, and granted there are many healings and deliverance's happening right now here in America, rest with Faith. Hebrews 11:6 "And without FAITH it is impossible to please Him, for those who come to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him." You see, apart from faith God cannot move.

In places like Asia and Africa the spiritual world is very prevalent. It is apart of daily life and most BELIEVE in it. Where as in Europe and America, we are, for the most part, very skeptical when it comes to the supernatural. Skepticism, or unbelief, even occurs in the church and we tend to conform our beliefs from our environment rather than by what the Word of God has to say. The word is clear that Christ Jesus is never changing (Heb. 13:8) and throughout the word of God we find a healing Lord. Read Mark 5:21-34 to see faith of an individual in action and healing because of it.

When we minister the word in far reaching places to people who believe in evil spirit and supernatural works it isn't hard for them to believe in the supernatural God we preach. As we teach about what Christ did and what He can do in them their faith begins to rise. They know of the spiritual world, and when they hear of a healing God who will take away their sins, helps them physically, and listens to their cares and worries they say, "YES, I want this Jesus. Yes, I want to be healed. Yes, I BELIEVE He can heal me." They come to this decision because they also feel the lack from the constant visits to witch-doctors that seem to do more harm than good. They come to this decision because they know instinctively in their heart that no stone, idol, or earthly object can ultimately heal them. They come to Christ because when truth hits their heart faith springs forward.

I can remember a moment in India when we had a small church service where many Hindus came to see and hear of this God who does wonderful works. A local man who did intense physical labor came forward when we asked if anyone would like us to lay hands and believe for healing. We prayed and believed for this man. Two hours later he walked, after gathering his family (wife and two children), 10km from his village to the place we were staying. He reported to us his back had been completely healed. He then wanted us to pray for the rest of the ailments his family was suffering from. We explained it is from the power of God who heals and we simply believe in that power and pray. He laid hands on his family with us as we prayed and they too received healing. Consequently they now all believe in Jesus and carry the testimony of a healing God.



There is much to be said about healing in the Lord, but know this, if you are suffering and want a work of the Holy Spirit simply BELIEVE. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, so meditate upon scriptures that deal with healing. Walk by faith and not by sight and claim, "I am healed in Jesus name!" Watch what wonderful things happen when you couple faith with what you speak.

Tim and Will

SUPPORT THE MISSION OF
TRAVEL THE ROAD

3-25-07

you are blessed
as air travels through you
expanding your lungs to their full capacity
as you hold your breath
and as the tinge of pain
from waiting and holding it all in overwhelms you.
as life twists, turns, and flips you,
heartache after heartache
working through the strain of life's struggles
and trying to find the glimmers of hope
through the darkness of suffering.
you are blessed
even in those times when hope is not enough
when to persevere seems foolish
and when our character fails us
do not allow circumstance to deter you
there is something much deeper,
even when not seen,
that holds you there
singing to your subconscious
something that keeps you coming.
the hope that God is who he says he is.
that if we really truly try,
we too can rejoice.
we too can tell the story of suffering,
of perseverance,
and of character.
that we too can know,
deeply and intimately,
what it means to hope.

This got my attention!

Our good friend and emerging missionary Shannon Hopkins was quoted in one of the books I've read recently. Her words really grabbed me.

"If we have no power, the emerging cultures will not be drawn to us. They are not afraid they are going to go to church and be changed. They are more afraid they will go to chruch and not be changed."

Wellspring Group Meeting

We will be meeting at the Napier's for tonights group meeting.

3-4-07

i encourage you
in times when you forget what it is to smile
when your heart is so heavy it hurts
and it feels as though no one understands

i encourage you in your 'lostness'
in your dark nights
as you descend the depths of silence
and as you brush the bottom of your soul

as your voice grows hoarse
as your confidence weakens
as you question-as you doubt
as you wonder who is friend
and who is foe

i encourage you
to passionately wait
to diligently seek
to quietly hope
to grit your teeth
to clench your fist
and to continue on.

for God has not forgotten you
you have not been abandoned
God will renew you each morning
and will deliver each promise.

feel yourself held.
rest.
breathe.
trust.
and above all else,
hope.

What is Post-Christendom?

Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch have a lot to say about Christendom and post-Christendom. They believe the epoch of Christendom is over. What do you think?

Here are some of their thoughts:

We acknowledge that the epoch of history that shaped the contemporary church has crashed like a wave on a shore and left the church high and dry. That epoch is known as the era of Christendom. Christendom has been in decline for the last 250 years.

Christendom is the name given to the religious culture that has dominated Western society since the fourth century. Awakened by the Roman emperor Constantine, it was the cultural phenomenon that resulted when Christianity was established as the official imperial religion, moving it form being a marginalized, subversive, and persecuted movement to being the official religion in the empire. Whereas followers of Jesus at one time had to meet secretly in homes and underground in catacombs, now they were given some of the greatest temples and meeting spaces in the empire.

The net effect over the entire Christendom epoch was that Christianity moved form being a dynamic, revolutionary, social, and spiritual movement to being a static religious institution with its attendant structured, priesthood, and sacraments.

Christendom describes the standardized form and expression of the church and mission formed in the post-Constantine period (AD 312 to present). It is important to note that it was not the original form in which the church expressed itself. The Christendom church is fundamentally different form the NT church, which is made up of a network of grassroots missional communities organized as a movement.
Christendom is marked by the following characteristics:

Its mode of engagement is attractional/extractional as opposed to missional/sending. Come to us.
A shift of focus to dedicated, sacred building/places of worship. The church in the Christendom epoch is more static and institutional in form.
The emergence of an institutionally recognized, profession clergy class acting primarily in a pastor-teacher mode.
Church is perceived as central to society and surrounding culture. The church holds a place of honor and respect in the community.
The Christendom mode church is dualistic. It separates the sacred from the profane, the holy from the unholy, the in from the out.
The church in Christendom is hierarchical. It’s top down and bureaucratic in it’s approach to leadership