A Spirit of Infirmity Part 1.
Written By Elder Josh Sparks.
Today I want to write about something heavy the Lord has placed on my heart. The past few weeks the Lord has been speaking to me about the many who are sick in body in the church. When I was a young preacher you hardly ever seen sick folk in the church. The people who were sick were healed because the preachers preached about faith and Jesus and His power was more than just a story it was a reality. You cannot and will not move God until you have a revelation of Him and until He has become a reality to you. Jesus is more than just a story and God’s ability to Heal is more than just a good message. That’s why so many are sick in the church today. The preachers are preaching the word but it is void of faith and if the preacher dont really believe and understand what he is preaching how can be a witness to the saints of God.
Let me sat without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. I have laid hands on people who come through the prayer line that had no business being up there.They dont have any faith in what was preached because they dont believe that He (God) is (present) or living. They have never had a revelation of the reality of God and the reality of His word they have not known because the one’s teaching them dont know either. You will always have the one who presses through he crowd and is healed in the service. There will always be a Zaccheus who just wants to see Jesus. Some are not at church to be entertained. Some are there to really touch Jesus.
I know God is a healer. I was born crippled. Evangelist R.A West was preaching at the paramount arts center November 1979 and Dad and Mom took me there. Hands were laid on me and by faith they took the pillow I had to wear off from around my little twisted right leg and God healed me. Mt Grandfather was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer 15 years ago and 15 years later he is 79 years old and still alive and well and God is still real and He is still healing those who believe He is because He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Prayer lines and prayer clothes and prayer boxes have replaced the power of God. We have to have gimmicks and programs to take place of the power we have somehow lost. I believe in prayer lines and prayer clothes but these are mere points of contact and cannot replace the presence of Jesus nor the reality of Jesus. We spend more time boxing God in and not allowing Him to move in our services, we have become experts on telling God what to do and the people who need the revelation of His reality brought to light miss out with God because they cannot find him in our way of worship and orders of service. Zaccheus couldnt see Jesus because of the crowd or the church so he had to take drastic measures. Desperate people will do desperate things in order to catch a glimpse of Jesus. The crowd tried to hush blind Bartimaeus but it made him cry out louder Jesus Son of David have mercy on me and Jesus healed Him. He got a revelation of Jesus and His power was a reality to Bartimaeus and his eyes were made whole. This brings me to our text tonight. (Luke 13:10-17) 10And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.11And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
12And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
Continued next Week............................................