by
Voice oF Bartimaues Ministries
Chapter One Being Present
From the beginning of the Bible it is evident that the manipulation of man’s mind and emotions has been the primary weapon the enemy uses to undermine what God has created man to be. In the garden the devil introduced the concept of mistrust. Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" It is still one of his main tactics.
Getting people to trust those who minister to them is difficult. Recently, I prayed with someone who underwent seven unsuccessful deliverance attempts. In one attempt she was physically injured. In another she was charged $300 per hour for prayer. She has a trust issue because this ministry will not charge her. She has valid reasons for not trusting a ministry. Part of reaching people is overcoming mistrust. Some of it comes from the devil and someone may come from bad experiences with Christians. But until truth is established there is a filter between their soul and their spirit which can prevent freedom.
Healing comes through the spirit. But as the apostle Paul wrote man is composed of body, mind and spirit. So, anything that separates the spirit from the body and the mind can cause difficulty. There are sovereign healings and deliverances in which everything happens at once. These are occurrences where God is so present that supernaturally all the filters are overcome by Him being truth. But, these are rare.
The statistical truth of the divorce rate and pornography use in the church paint a different picture. With 20% of Christian couples divorcing and 60% of Christian men viewing pornography on a regular basis there are many unhealed people in the Body of Christ. Most of the congregation is ill-equipped to deal with people who need serious ministry. Ministry is often considered a “prayer event’’. If we just pray God will deal with all the abuse and pain. After all, who has the time to spend hours every week with someone undergoing recovery from drugs? But, the truth is Jesus spent a lot of time with each of us.
The apostle Paul struggled with sin, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me” (Romans 7:18-20). Paul’s struggle with sin was real; so much so that he cried out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Romans 7:24). If we have surpassed his level of belief, I would expect more people being raised from the dead by stronger believers.
A doctor dispenses medical help to one person and moves to the next, He has to see an ever growing number of patients in order to pay the bills because of the new healthcare system. But, he does not love each patient. He does not spend time helping them grow in what they were created to be. The truth is they still struggle when he leaves them. The truth is many people still struggle when they leave church on Sunday morning. Living in their own unresolved pain leaves them unable to help others and unable to grow spiritually. Having prayed for people in the worship team at 2 different churches with cocaine addictions it is evident that there are situations where we say peace, peace and there is no peace. Hearing a mega church leader say on television that they don’t deal with homosexuality and abortion because other churches deal with it, just means it is not dealt with in the church he pastors. Before healing can occur there has to be admission that healing is needed.
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.