“Listen carefully to my words; let your ears take in what I say…” Luke 9:44

This bible quote encourages us to find a place of tranquility where we can take in God’s Word and take out God’s strength!  In the hectic day to day race that most people find themselves in, it is good to remember that we must take in God’s Word so that we may take out the kind of life He desires for us. This morning I am praying that each one of you would find time to enjoy God’s presence.

Remember we can find His presence in the simple things of life. One fall after a number of weeks of outreach in the radiation red zone just North of Chernobyl, I stepped out of the hotel into this grey Soviet era landscape. In between two 20 story buildings in the far distance was a little tree not more than 6 feet tall. On its branches were bright red leaves. I remember blurting out, “Look everyone! Isn’t that beautiful!?” The crowd around me was strangely confused looking for anything of beauty, but there in the distance was that bright autumn tree.

I encourage you today in the midst of your busy life to make a moment that refreshes your heart and your spirit. Maybe it is gazing at a special picture, taking a walk on the beach, or even throwing a few snowballs. Regardless, remember—take in His life and take out His presence!  Special moments come when we stop and glance at the beautiful landscapes of life!

I was fortunate to enjoy an afternoon in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. When Michelangelo painted the chapel, he did not do it freestyle, just splashing on the walls and ceiling with whatever colors he felt at the moment. No, first he constructed a model of the room and made detailed drawings of each corner and each figure, so his work would not appear distorted when viewed.

Jesus is our model. As we go out representing Him, we must look more closely at Him. Why do people have a distorted image of Jesus? It is because we are the only image they see! That image can bring life, love, joy, peace, and healing power to every person on the earth. But if we do not represent Him accurately, people will not see who He is.

Let us understand Jesus not as just another nice spiritual man, but as the living God. And let us not see His Kingdom as something to be looked forward to, but as something to be experienced now!

We must take one more step to untangle ourselves from the system of thought that denies power to us today and makes us spectators, rather than players, in the arena of life. What will get us out of the bleachers so we stop acting as observers, critics, and reporters and start making life happen now?

The story is told of a man who purchased passage on a cruise liner for himself and his family, paying the full fare for their grand adventure across the ocean.

Each day he and his family huddled in their quiet little berth consuming the sparse provisions they had packed for their trip. One day a steward noticed their emaciated faces and asked them why they were not enjoying the banquet with the other passengers. The father told him that he had only purchased passage on the ship but not the meals.

The steward explained to the man that his ticket covered passage and meals for his entire family. After dining on mere morsels for days, the family joyfully sat down to enjoy what had belonged to them all along.

David tells us in Psalm 103:2-3, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.”

Many of us have been taught that sickness is essentially the errand boy of God, delivering a particular message for your life that will bring you to a new opportunity or a higher walk with God. I want us to look at this, because this to me is one of the most insidious lies that we can find.

If God is the One sending sickness to make you captive, and then takes it away and turns you from your captivity, I would submit to you that God is a little bit confused.  If Jesus is the One who sees our sicknesses and releases us, the children of God, the children of Abraham, the daughter of Abraham, from the spirit of infirmity as He did in Luke 13:12, then is Jesus in direct opposition to God, the One who supposedly offered and desired and sent the messenger of sickness and disease?

Matthew 7:11 says, “If you then being evil know how to give goods unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good gifts to them that ask Him?” If we believe that God is sending sickness and disease as a tool in His hand to teach us something, if we believe that it is the will of our Father’s heart to bruise us, to beat us, to harm us through sickness and disease, then we have a conflict of understanding. Because in fact, we see from scripture that it is God’s desire to answer our prayers for healing and every other area of our lives!

Religion is a “got to” way of life. Redemption is a “get to” way of life!

Religion is a door you must pass through in order to get into God’s presence.  Redemption is a door held open by Jesus that no man can shut!

Religion is man’s attempt to satisfy a holy God.  Redemption is God’s attempt to make us holy by the sacrifice of a holy substitute!

Religion is a shadow of the things to come—it has no substance or power.  Redemption is the reality of things to come—in the substance of our flesh and words.

Religion is form, ritual, tradition; an empty shell. It contains no life or revelation within.  Redemption is the inner reality of the kingdom of God in a temple of flesh. It needs no form, ritual, or tradition because the King Himself resides within!

Many people lose the manifestation of healing already in operation by turning their attention from Christ and the Word of God, to their feelings.

To the religious leaders of Jesus’ day healing was easier, even acceptable. To the religious in our day, forgiveness of sin is easier and acceptable. But, by one sacrifice Jesus Christ made both forgiveness and healing available to us!

The Word of God is the truth, the Word is our standard—there is a big difference between the natural facts and the reality that God’s Word is the final truth on the situation!

If Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed, who was oppressing them? Were they oppressed of sickness sent by the hand of God? No! Acts 10:38 clearly shows us that they were oppressed of the devil: “…how 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.”

The message of the Gospel is spreading all over the world, but it is sad that not all who accept salvation also believe in healing—even though it is the same thing! In the time of Jesus and his disciples it was as natural to pray for healing as it was to pray for salvation. People believed and were healed!