God’s Will in Healing part 1: Jesus Our Example

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During his time on earth in a human body, Jesus always did the will of God the Father.  Part of His mission was to demonstrate the true character and nature of God, and He completed His mission successfully on all points.

Because of this, we can look at His life to get a picture of what God’s will looks like when someone is obeying it perfectly.

Consider the following scriptures that bring out this idea:

 Colossians 1:15

(NLT) – Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.  He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.

Hebrews 3:1

(NLT) – The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command.  When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

(NIV) – The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

(NASV) – And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.  When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

John 14:9

(NKJV) – Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

From the verses above, and many others, we see the following principles:

  • If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus
  • If you want to know how God feels about something, look at how Jesus feels about it
  • If you want to know what it looks like when God’s will is obeyed and performed, look at Jesus.

Jesus is the only “person” that ever demonstrated God’s will perfectly.  He is the only one that was without sin…he never missed the mark.  He was perfectly obedient to the will and the instructions of God the Father.  Through His words and actions, God’s will was put on display for all to see.

With that in mind, read the following verse:

 Acts 10:38

(NKJV) – God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

In the life of Jesus, specifically when it comes to dealing with people that are suffering from sickness or disease, there is a very definite pattern that is easy to see.  If a sick person came to Him for healing, then healing is what happened.  Jesus healed people. According to the record we have in the Bible, Jesus healed everyone that came to Him.  There is not a single exception.

And since Jesus demonstrates the will of God perfectly, then the only conclusion we can come to is that healing is God’s will.

Jesus is a Better Example

Jesus shows us perfectly how God wants things to be done.  He is the best example we have of a “human” that is doing the will of God.  Every other man or woman of God that we could look to will only have a measure of God’s will on display.  People make mistakes, and people don’t always obey and demonstrate God’s will perfectly.

But Jesus did not make mistakes.  He demonstrated God’s will perfectly.

So when we look through the Gospels and see how Jesus treated sickness, we can see what God’s will is when it comes to sickness.

We can’t look at Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Peter, Paul, Timothy, Augustine, Martin Luther, Smith Wigglesworth, Billy Graham, your grandpa, your pastor, or any other person to see it perfectly.

Only Jesus demonstrated God’s will perfectly every time.  He is our example.  Only through Him can we get a completely accurate view of the will of God.   He is the better example.  He is the best example.  He trumps all others.  And He healed everyone that came to Him.  He healed “all who were oppressed of the devil for God was with Him.”  (Acts 10:38)

Conclusion

If Jesus truly and accurately represented the Father (which He did), then we have to come to the conclusion that our God wants to heal people.  Healing is God’s will.

Once you begin to understand and believe this, then you are probably going to have a lot of new questions about healing.  Depending on your different life experiences, some of the new questions may be very difficult and uncomfortable.  That would not surprise me because that has been my experience as well.  This is a part of the process of being transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).

However, regardless of the other questions that come up, we can safely eliminate God’s will as a variable in healing.  There are many factors in healing, and there are many variables that affect what we see and experience as we minister.  But God’s will in healing is not variable.  It is constant.  This is one reason we never see anyone in the New Testament minister healing by praying “God please heal the person if it be Your will.”

Neither Jesus nor His disciples seemed to have any question about whether or not healing was God’s will.  If you read what they said, and how they said it, then you will see that they were all operating on the belief that God wanted to heal people.

If we are trying to represent Jesus and do the will of God, then we need to operate on that same belief.  Otherwise, we are believing something that is not biblical, and we are misrepresenting our Father and our Savior.

Next in Series:  God’s Will in Healing Part 2 – Timeline

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The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is for All Believers

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Have you ever wondered if the Baptism with the Holy Spirit (and the ability to speak in tongues that comes with it) is available to all believers?

Are you wondering if it is available to you?

If you have believed in Jesus and received salvation, then the answer is yes!  It is available to you.  It is available to every believer.

We are going to look at a few places in the book of Acts where this fact is illustrated for us.

1 – Pentecost:  …they were all filled….

In Acts chapter 1, we see Jesus spending time with His followers after He rose from the grave, but before He ascended to heaven.  He spent 40 days with them, teaching them various things.  We do not have very many details about what He said, but the details we do have are very powerful.

Some of His last words before His ascension are recorded for us here:

 Acts 1:5 – “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Jesus tells His followers that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.  After He spoke this to them, He ascended into heaven.

There were about 120 people included in the group that were there.  The members of this group included:

  •  the 11 apostles (Peter, John, etc)
  • Mary the mother of Jesus
  • The brothers of Jesus (James, Jude, etc)
  • lots of other people

As the story continues in the next chapter, we see the whole group receiving the Holy Spirit baptism ten days later on the day of Pentecost.

 Acts 2:1-4 – When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Notice in verse four is says that they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.  All of them.  Not just the apostles…not just the leaders or other “special” people.  It came to each one of them. They all received it.

There were no exceptions.

Nobody was left out.

It was available to everyone present.

This is the start of the Christian church, and we can plainly see that 100 percent of the members received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. This means that Mary spoke in tongues. It also means that all of the writers of the New Testament spoke in tongues, and were around other believers that spoke in tongues.

 2 – The Household of Cornelius…the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard…

In the previous story, we were looking at people who had been followers of Jesus for some time.  In this story, we are going to look at some people that had never even heard of Jesus.

In a nutshell, there is a man named Cornelius that is seeking God, but has never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Peter is sent there to share the gospel with Cornelius and his household.  While Peter is sharing the good news, we see the following event take place:

Acts 10:44-48 – While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.  And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.  For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

 

This group of people believed the gospel and received salvation.  And then almost immediately afterwards, they all receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and the accompanying sign of speaking in tongues.  Notice that the Holy Spirit fell on all of them.  Everyone that wanted it got it.  100 percent of the believers received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.

They all received it.

There were no exceptions.

Nobody was left out.

3 – The Ephesian Disciples…the Holy Spirit came upon them…there were about 12 men in all

Read Acts 19:1-7.  In this story, Paul comes across some men that had been disciples of John the Baptist.  John the Baptist preached about repentance, and he talked about the coming messiah.  Since these men were disciples of his, we can assume that this is probably the state of mind of these men.  They have repented, and they are looking forward to the messiah who is coming soon.

Paul has a short conversation with them, and tells them about Jesus..the Messiah has come!  They believe and get baptized in water.  After that, Paul laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit baptism and they all speak in tongues.

In this story, it says there are about 12 men present.  So, 12 out of 12 receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. 12 out of 12 speak in tongues. 100 percent of the believers receive the Holy Spirit baptism and speak in tongues.

There were no exceptions.

Nobody was left out.

It was available to everyone present.

4 – “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Whenever we see the Baptism with the Holy Spirit taking place in the book of Acts, and the details of the event are provided, we always see the same result.  Every Christian that wants it receives it.  This is true no matter if they are apostles that followed Jesus for three years, or if they just heard about Jesus for the first time.

We have no examples where some people received the baptism, but some did not.  We have no examples where someone wanted to receive it, but God said no.

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit (including the ability to speak in tongues) is available to every  believer, and it is available right now with no waiting.

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>>Next in Series:  The Power to Speak in Tongues is Included

How Jesus Did Miracles

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I believe that the material you are about to read contains information about our Lord Jesus that will completely transform the way you look at our Creator.   These truths are among the most precious and sacred treasures I have ever come across.  I hope this blesses you.

Acts 10:38 – God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

This passage of Scripture is Peter’s summary of the life of Jesus.  He tells us what Jesus did, and how He did it.

It is just one sentence, but I believe it is one of the most important sentences that a human being can ever spend time thinking about.  I want to divide it into two parts, and examine each part individually.

 PART 1: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power…”

Jesus is God.  He was God throughout eternity past, He is God right now, and He is God throughout eternity in the future.  Whatever it means to be God, that’s what Jesus is.

He is…

  • Omnipotent (all powerful, never gets tired, never gets hungry, etc)
  • Omnipresent (everywhere at once, doesn’t have to travel from place to place)
  • Omniscient (all wise and all knowing, never caught by surprise)

Those are three words we use to try describe some of God’s “attributes.”  They all apply to Jesus, because Jesus is God.

However, 2000 years ago Jesus “came to earth” on a mission.  Contrary to popular belief, it was not a finger-pointing mission, but rather a rescue mission (John 3:17).  Part of the rescue mission involves Him subjecting Himself to the limitations of a mere human being.  He became a man.  Or, another way of saying it…He came to earth as a man in a physical body with self-imposed limits on His abilities.   Here are some scriptures that bring out this point:

Philippians 2:5-8 – Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Hebrews 2:17-18 – Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Jesus chose to become a man, and to subject himself to the same limits you and I have.  For example, while He was on the earth in a human body…

  • He had to walk from place to place.  He wasn’t everywhere at the same time.  He was not exercising His omnipresence.
  • There were things He didn’t know (Mark 13:32). He was not exercising His omniscience.
  • He got tired and hungry (John 4:6). He was not exercising His omnipotence.

So, even though He is God, He put himself in our shoes and made Himself subject to our limitations.  He was born as a human infant with a human brain and body, and grew up having to learn how to talk and how to walk like any other human.

We don’t really know much of the first 30 years of His life, other than the fact that He worked as a carpenter, and He had a remarkable grasp of the Scriptures.  But that is about it.  He was not performing any miracles or healings or anything very far out of the ordinary.

Then, something happened.  He came to be baptized by John in the Jordan river.  When He came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on Him (Luke 3:21-22).  At this point in His life, things changed dramatically.  He began to do things that ordinary people can’t do.

Before this day in His life, He had done zero miracles.  In the three years that followed this day, He did so many miracles that one eyewitness made this statement:

John 21:25 – And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen

Something changed when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and it was noticeable immediately to people around him.  Look at the way the people in His hometown reacted:

 Mark 6:1-3 – Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.  When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.  “Where did this man get these things?” they asked.  “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter?  Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,Judas and Simon?  Aren’t his sisters here with us?”  And they took offense at him.

Their reaction shows that something was VERY different now.  They were not used to Him teaching like this and doing miracles.

We are told in Luke 4:14 and Luke 4:18 that Jesus is now walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.  That is the reason for the sudden change.  When the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, Jesus went from living within the limits of a “regular person” (and I say that reverently) to living as a “regular person” who has the Spirit of God working through Him to demonstrate miraculous power.

The miracles and healings were a result of a human being (Jesus) cooperating with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit provided the power and the ability for Jesus to do miracles, heal people, cast out demons, calm storms, raise the dead, multiply food, teach with authority, walk on water, know people’s thoughts, and so on.

This is exciting news for us, because the same Holy Spirit that enabled Jesus to do miracles is the same Holy Spirit that lives in every single believer.  Jesus explicitly tells us in John 14:12 that anyone that believes in Him will do the same things (and even greater things) that He was doing.  More on this later….

PART 2: “…who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (and that’s what He wants us to do too).  Healing is good.  It is good to heal people.  Oppression and sickness are bad.  That should be obvious to anyone that has any kind of ability to read and comprehend simple statements.

Jesus didn’t go around telling the sick people that God made them sick to teach them patience or to deepen their piety.  That is not considered “doing good.”  He didn’t tell them that their diseases were part of some mysterious plan, and that they needed to remain sick because it wasn’t God’s will to heal them right now.  Jesus didn’t do that, and He doesn’t want us doing that either.  That is the opposite of “doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil.”

Jesus demonstrated the power of God with authority.  He commanded sickness to leave.  He commanded people’s bodies to be healed.  He commanded demons to go.  That is good.

Jesus healed sick people, and he cast demons out of people that were under demonic influence.  This is called “healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”  Again, that is called “doing good.”

Notice that sickness is not from God.  Sickness is oppression from the devil.  In the beginning, God made earth and mankind without sickness.  There was no disease in the Garden of Eden.  Sickness became a part of our life on earth when Adam sinned and gave his dominion away to the devil.  Sickness is not part of God’s plan for your life.  It is a part of the devil’s plan for your life.  God’s plan is that we imitate Jesus and do what He would do…drive out sickness by the power of the same Holy Spirit that worked in Him….the same Holy Spirit that lives in each of us who believe.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and He gave us the authority to do the same.  He said that we would do the same works that he did, and even greater works because He was returning to His Father (John 14:12). When Jesus returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He poured out the Holy Spirit on the church (Acts 2:33), and then they starting doing the same things Jesus had been doing.

The great commission includes instructions to heal the sick and cast out demons (Mark 16). It also includes instructions to make disciples and teach them to do what Jesus taught the original disciples to do: heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the gospel.

Somewhere through history, it seems like a lot of the church has forgotten about this.  In the days of the early church, the news about Jesus spread because His followers were doing miracles, healing sick people, and and setting people free from demonic oppression.  They were not relying on clever marketing gimmicks, good music, or attempts to be culturally relevant.  They were demonstrating the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the same Holy Spirit that lives in every Christian, and He is no less powerful today than He was 2000 years ago.

Do you want to represent Jesus through miracles and healing the sick?  Study the life of Jesus, take a leap of faith, and begin to imitate Him.  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you.  Do not be afraid to make mistakes.  Learn as you go.  Do not be afraid to look stupid or be embarrassed.  The Holy Spirit is not only your teacher, but He is also your comforter, your counselor, and your friend.  He will help you.

Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.  He did this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That same Holy Spirit (and that same power) lives inside of every Christian.  And every Christian has been commissioned to do good and heal the sick.   We have been given the same mission that Jesus demonstrated, and we have been given the same supernatural equipment to accomplish the mission.

The Importance of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit

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I am writing this to offer a perspective on the value and importance that we should place on the experience known as “the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.”

It is my belief that after someone receives Jesus as his/her savior and is born again to eternal life, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit should be the very next thing on the list of priorities.

I believe that it should be a part of any “new believer’s class” and it should be taught regularly in every Christian assembly.

Here are four reasons why I believe this way…

1 – The Baptism with the Holy Spirit was a high priority to God the Father

In Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:16, and John 1:33, we read this statement from John the Baptist:

“I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

God sent John the Baptist to announce the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.

Of all the things that He could have had John announce, the one that He picked was the fact that Jesus would “baptize with the Holy Spirit.”

And God made sure that this announcement was included in all four gospel accounts in the New Testament.

This is amazing to think about.  John could have been sent to say any number of things, but a main part of his function was to announce that Jesus will baptize people in the Holy Spirit.

This aspect of the ministry of Jesus is not something that should be set to the side.  It should be near the center of our thinking.  We need to understand what this means, and share this understanding with others.  To say that “the Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a big deal” is an understatement.

2 – The Baptism with the Holy Spirit was a high priority to Jesus

Jesus personally trained His disciples for 3 years (many of them at least).  These individuals received hands on personal training and daily interaction with the perfect Son of God.

They heard all of His teachings in person.  They watched Him do healings and miracles and cast out demons.  They had opportunities ask Him questions about things he said and did, to get more insight and instruction.  They had the privilege of operating as apprentices and receiving direction and correction from Jesus Himself, in the flesh.

However, among the last instructions from Jesus to His disciples was to wait for the Holy Spirit baptism before they get started on their mission. (Acts 1:4-8)

 Acts 1:4

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

These were the last words of Jesus before He ascended and was glorified at the right hand of the Father.

As crazy as it sounds...being trained in person by Jesus was not enough. They needed something else if they were going to have maximum effectiveness.  And this not something I am making up.  It is straight from the mouth of the risen Lord Himself.

We should not be so arrogant to assume that we do not need this same equipment.  We can go to seminary and study doctrines, memorize the entire Bible, go to conferences, listen to sermons, fast, pray, and who knows what else. Learning, studying, receiving training, praying, and fasting are all good and helpful and important…but learning and training are only part of what is needed.

We will never come close to our potential if we neglect the supernatural empowerment that was spoken of by Jesus and is freely available to us even now.

3 – The Baptism with the Holy Spirit was a high priority to the early church at Jerusalem

Acts 8:14-17

Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

In this story, a disciple name Philip has gone to Samaria and “preached Christ to them” (Acts 8:5).  His preaching was accompanied by demonstrations of of the power of God in healings, signs, and casting out demons.

Many people believed the gospel and received Jesus as their savior and were baptized in water (Acts 8:12).

Word got back to Jerusalem about what was going on. When the believers in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans were getting saved, the first action they took was to send Peter and John on a ~40 mile trip to minister the baptism with the Holy Spirit to the new believers.

This shows the priority that was placed on this by the early church at Jerusalem. It was at the top of their list for new believers to receive this. They wasted no time in bringing this Holy Spirit baptism to the new Samaritan believers.

This attitude is one that we should emulate.  We should think about this the same way they did.  Whenever someone believes in Jesus and receives salvation, the very next thing that we should tell them about is the baptism with the Holy Spirit.  It is crucial, and the early church knew it.

4 -It was a high priority to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.

Read Acts 19:1-6.   Here is a summary:

Paul goes to a place named Ephesus. He meets some people there that call themselves “disciples.” Paul assumes they are Christians and his first question to these new “disciples” was “did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?”

They answered “no, we didn’t even know there was a Holy Spirit.”

Paul is perplexed and asks more questions.

He learns that they are disciples of John the Baptist, but they haven’t heard the gospel yet.

So Paul does the following:

1 – Explain (preach) the gospel of Jesus to them

2 – When they believe and receive, he baptizes them in water

3 – When they come up out of the water, he places his hands on them to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit…and they speak in tongues as they receive it.

Take a look at Paul’s attitude here. This is around 25-30 years after the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, and the very first thing he asks new believers about is the Baptism with the Holy Spirit.

When he finds out they aren’t actually Christians yet, he leads them into salvation in Jesus, and then water baptism.

And then the next step is the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.

This is our pattern. This is our blueprint. This is what it should look like.  This attitude is consistent through the book of Acts, and I believe we should have the same attitude today.  After salvation through faith in Jesus, the next most important thing for any human being to receive is the baptism with the Holy Spirit.

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>>Next in this series:  The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is for All Believers

Healed from Fibromyalgia

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In the fall of 2002, my wife Teresa started experiencing some pain symptoms in her back that we could not find an explanation for. Over the next few years, it spread over her whole body.  After going to many different doctors, she was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  The diagnosis was confirmed by more than one doctor.

Fibromyalgia has different levels of severity in different people.  My wife’s condition was particularly severe, and her health deteriorated to the point where she was only able to walk about 50 feet or so, and she could only be on her feet for about 90 seconds.  The pain was getting worse and worse.

Three years later, in December of 2005, she was struck with another condition in her arms that was eventually diagnosed as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (also known as RSD).  Because of the intense pain, she lost use of both arms and hands, and was no longer able to care for herself at all.  Her arms hurt so badly that it was painful even for air to blow on her skin sometimes.  Over time, not using her arms, and not being able to walk very well, she became weaker and weaker, and her hands actually started to close up into a fist.

It was a very bad situation, and that is putting it lightly.  And, it was getting worse day by day, month by month.

The next year, in August of 2006, I found out about a prayer email list at the company I work for.  I joined the list, and sent out this email:

—–Original Message—–

From: Neal

Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 11:07 AM

To: *****

Subject: Prayer Request

 Hi everyone.  I have a prayer request.

Over the past four years, my wife Teresa has developed some chronic pain conditions that have baffled many doctors.  The pain has become increasingly debilitating, and has left her very limited in what she is able to do physically.

God has faithfully brought us through it this far, and sent many people to help us along the way.  He has blessed us in many ways, and we are very thankful.  He has also led us to some good physicians, and we hope and pray that she is on the road to recovery.

I would like to ask you all to pray for her complete healing, and that God would use our testimony to bless others.

Thank you

Neal

—————————————————————

Someone replied to that email inviting me to a lunchtime study in one of the conference rooms at work.  It was a study on divine healing.  It was being led by a man named Bill Alsop.  I came to the study.  After it was over, I spoke to Bill briefly.  He didn’t know me, but I asked him about praying for my wife.  He invited me to his home that Friday night, August 25.

So, that Friday after work I picked up Teresa and we drove to his home.  On the way there I remember that I was somewhat excited, and I was expecting that we would receive encouragement and strength to go on.  There had been many people praying for us over the years.  We had a few times where people came by to pray with us, and there were other times when we had gone to different places for prayer.  I know there were lots more praying for us that we were not always aware of.  It always helped us to keep going, and that was pretty much what I was expecting.

When we arrived, we talked with Bill and his wife Cathy for a short while, and then we started praying.  Teresa was actually lying down on the floor at this point, and we were all praying in the name of the Lord Jesus.  Some of the time they were praying in tongues, some of the time they were praying in English.

After a few minutes, he told my wife to stand up.  He took her to the front door, and he told her to walk to the end of his street, turn the corner, walk up the hill to the mailboxes, touch one of them, then walk back.  He told her to talk to God while she walked.  (Bill later shared with us that the Holy Spirit had instructed him to do all of that in a vision he received while they were praying).

In my mind, I was thinking “What? She can’t even make it to the end of the driveway”…but before I could say anything, she took off walking out the door and down the street.  I knew that unless something supernatural happened, she would collapse within two minutes of walking out the door.

However, before I had time to object, Bill turned to me and said this: “You have been praying to receive the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues.”  That shocked me because I had not mentioned anything about that, even though it was absolutely true.  God was getting my attention…to help me believe.  He succeeded.  I stood up, Bill put his hand on my chest, and I began speaking in tongues for the first time…just like they did in the Bible.  I received the Baptism with the Holy Spirit right there in his living room, while at the same time my wife was walking down the street receiving a miraculous healing from God.

For a few minutes as I was speaking, I was somewhat overwhelmed in a flood of God’s presence, and I forgot that Teresa had gone out walking without me and without her wheelchair.  Before long, I looked towards the door and she was standing there talking to Bill.

She made it!  She walked all the way to the mailboxes and back.  That is about four blocks.  She was healed as she walked, and it was a miracle!

Bill told us to go buy her some walking shoes, and to go walking every day.  We talked a little while longer, and then drove home.  On the way home, I remember feeling like I just came out of a whirlwind, and wondering to myself “what just happened to us…”  The pain was gone from Teresa’s body.  She made the comment in the car that she was able to “feel her skin again.”

We got home and went for our first walk together in years.  We walked halfway to the end of our street and back, and she made it with no pain.  The next day we walked farther and still no pain.  No more need for the prescription pain medications for Fibromyalgia…and she has not taken one of those since then.

We continued walking farther and farther each day, and she was regaining her strength now that all of the terrible pain and fatigue were gone.  After about a week, she was able to walk for a mile.  Not long after that, it became two miles.  We donated her wheelchair to charity.  She was able to use her arms again, and feed herself and dress herself and everything else you do with your arms and hands.

She had a previously scheduled appointment coming up with the main Fibromyalgia doctor, and we decided to keep the appointment and tell him the good news.  After that appointment, I sent this message to the prayer email list:

—————————————————————

From: Neal

Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 3:06 PM

To: *******

Subject: Testimony Update

Hi everyone.

I am the person who sent out the testimony back in August about Christ healing my wife Teresa from Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (FM/CFS).

I just wanted to send out a little story that I hope will build your faith. This is a story about what it is like to tell a doctor that Jesus healed you.

Last Wednesday, I took Teresa back the specialist she has been seeing for FM/CFS. His name is Dr. Charles Lapp, and he’s in Charlotte, NC. He is one of the top experts on for that condition in America, and he is absolutely the finest medical professional I have ever dealt with.

Teresa hasn’t been back to seen him since God healed her on August 25, so we were very excited to tell him what happened. The last time he saw her she was in constant severe pain. She was only able to stand up for about two minutes before feeling like she was going to collapse, and even sitting up was difficult.

This time was a completely different story, because now she walks about a mile or two for exercise every day, and all the pain and suffering is gone

Here’s how the appointment started:

Dr. Lapp: “You look great! How are you doing?”

Teresa: “Have you ever heard of someone getting healed from Fibromyalgia?”

Dr. Lapp: “No I haven’t. (he looked surprised and excited).”

Teresa: “Well, I have a story to tell you. On August 25, God healed me…”

Then she told him the story of what happened. He looked to be both amazed and excited at the same time.

He did all of his tests on her, and he just kept laughing because everything was negative. He said he had never seen anything like this before. We said “we haven’t either, but it sure is awesome!”

Then, he gave her a hug, told her how happy he was for her, and wrote up his report. Here’s what he wrote at the end of the report…and I quote:

“Assessment: CFS/FM – miraculously resolved!”

There’s nobody like Jesus.

I hope this will help you to believe that God is still doing miracles, and healing people.

—————————————————————

And now, years later, Teresa is an athlete.  She is at the gym every day doing some extreme workouts that would would put most men in the world to shame.  She is one of the most physically fit people that I know, and that is not an exaggeration.

The experience we had the night she was healed started us on a journey.  We began learning more about the Holy Spirit and how He wants to work through natural people to do supernatural things…and set people free from whatever conditions are holding them back.

The rest of the writings on this blog are mostly a collection of things that we have learned over the last few years as we began stepping out in faith and ministering to others.  I hope this blesses you and brings encouragement.  God loves you!

Neal

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