Category: Blackboards

1 Corinthians 11:29-30

For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

Have you ever wondered why some Christians are weak and sick, and die young? I thank God that the Holy Spirit gives us the reason as well as the solution. In 1 Corinthians 11:29-30, He tells us clearly that the one reason some Christians are weak and sick, and die prematurely, is that they don’t discern the Lord’s body when they partake of the Holy Communion. Many believers don’t understand that the pierced, striped and slightly burnt bread, which represents the Lord’s body, is for their health and healing. And when they partake without discerning this truth, they partake in an unworthy manner. The reverse is true: If they discern accurately the Lord’s body, then they will be strong and healthy, and live long.

Unfortunately, the church down through the years has misconstrued this teaching and taught that if you have sin in your life, you are unworthy and cannot partake of the Holy Communion. They have turned a blessing into a curse. Because of this, many Christians are afraid to come to the Lord’s table and are therefore robbed of the health-giving power of the Holy Communion. First of all, there is no such thing as a worthy person! The best of us still miss it and fail. So unworthy people are the only people who can partake of the Lord’s Supper. Because Jesus died for unworthy people, He has qualified those of us who take Him as our righteousness to partake of every benefit that He died to give us.

Here is the key, it is not a matter of whether you are worthy or unworthy to partake, but how you partake. Come to the Lord’s table with boldness and partake because Jesus has qualified you with His precious blood. Don’t treat it as a ritual, but release your faith for health and healing as you discern that Jesus’ body was broken so that yours can be healthy and whole today. When you partake focusing on what Jesus did, you are partaking in a worthy manner, and you will not be weak or sickly, or die prematurely!

3 John 1:2

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

Let’s say that you are now in your nineties. Someone comes along and asks you, “Sir, you have been a Christian for a very long time. You have seen much and done much with God by your side. You have prayed all kinds of prayers. So what would you place as top priority when you pray for people?”

I believe the apostle John was asked a similar question and his reply was, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” When the apostle John wrote 3 John, he was already a very old man and probably the only disciple of the original 12 who was still alive. It had been so long ago since he last walked alongside his beloved Lord, and witnessed His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The apostle John had also leaned on the Lord’s bosom on the night of the Last Supper. And I believe that there on Jesus’ bosom, he must have felt the heartbeat of the Son of God – that loving and compassionate heartbeat which had caused Him to go about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil”. (Acts 10:38) In fact, two-thirds of Jesus’ ministry on earth had to do with healing the sick.

And now, nearing the end of his life, and after all he had heard, seen and experienced, the apostle John prioritized, above all things, health as well as holistic prosperity. He said, “I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” He knew the Lord’s heartbeat. He knew that the Lord wants and will always want these for His people.

Jesus had prioritized divine healing during His earthly ministry. And Jesus, who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), will do the same for you today. His heart still beats for you. He will never miss an opportunity to do good for you, to heal you of your broken body, emotional scars and weary spirit, and to bless you!

Romans 8:11

And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.

So you are probably one of those people who believe that when you get to heaven you will be completely healed, young, full of energy and in perfect physical condition for eternity. If that is your thinking, you are among the majority the population who thinks the same thing. Although it is a true statement, did you know that when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior you already have all these things from that moment on? That’s right, you are healed, full of energy and in perfect physical condition right here on earth before you even get to heaven. “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.” When you accept Jesus, His Spirit (The Holy Spirit) comes and lives within you. And from then on you are now starting your eternal life right here on earth.

So why do some of us not see this manifestation in their lives? Although they believe that God can heal them at any time, they face another problem with their faith, and that is believing that He will do it for them. Most people face the same faith issue. They believe God can heal them in a heartbeat, but they fail to believe that He is willing to heal them.

Remember the leper who fell at the feet of Jesus saying, “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.” He believed beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus could heal him. But he didn’t believe that Jesus would. So what was Jesus’ response? Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing”, He said, “be clean.” Matthew 8:3 You see the response of Jesus, “I am willing.”

Now you might say that was when Jesus was physically present on earth, but today He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Though that is true, do you remember what Jesus said to His disciples? But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. John 16:7 That Advocate is The Holy Spirit who is able to be with every believer all the time everywhere. God still heals today even though Jesus is in heaven.

We can see the heart of Jesus in the New Testament through the numerous accounts of healing that He did. Did you know that 2/3rds of Jesus’ ministry on earth was devoted to healing? If you see the heart of Jesus you also see the heart of God the Father. Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” John 14:9 So this tells us that the Father’s heart is the same as Jesus’ heart and that is He wants you well.

So how do we get the faith to believe that God is willing to heals us and see this healing manifest in our lives? Believe it! You don’t have to have a ton of faith, God will meet you at your level. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, that if you have the faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20 Do you know how small a mustard seed is? That is a very little amount of faith, but God will meet you there to move mountains if you need it.

Get you heart and mind set on who Jesus and the Father are. Get you mind set that they can and are willing to heal you. Believe it and then speak it into existence by believing and receive your miracle today. “I am willing, You are healed.”

Luke 17:21

“For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

When you were younger, were you may have been scolded for not finishing all your food or leaving the lights on when you left your room? Were you constantly reminded that there are people starving in the world, that electricity costs a lot of money and that money doesn’t grow on trees? Now, do you find yourself telling your child the same things?

We are naturally conscious of lack in this world, but Jesus isn’t. Even in the midst of lack, He was always conscious of abundance. Remember the little boy’s five loaves and two fish? What did Jesus do when these were placed in His hands? Did He say, “What do you expect Me to do with so little?” No, His eyes were not on the natural, the visible, the lack. His eyes were on the kingdom of God where there is always abundance. So in His hands, the little boy’s lunch was multiplied, and 5,000 men, not counting women and children, were fed that day! (John 6:1-13) God doesn’t want you to be conscious of the lack in your natural circumstances. He doesn’t want you to live by how much you earn or how much you have in the bank. Now, I am not encouraging you to spend foolishly beyond your means. I am saying that God wants you to be conscious of the abundance of resources in His kingdom.

You may be asking, “Where is that kingdom?” As long as you have received Jesus as your Savior, that kingdom is in you! Jesus said that “the kingdom of God is within you”. This means that the kingdom of God is not some physical place. It is within you and it is where the abundance of resources are. So if you want to experience abundance in your life, be conscious first of the abundance inside you. Then, what is inside you will become a reality on the outside. God doesn’t want you to be conscious of the lack you see outside you. He wants you to be conscious of the abundance within you because His kingdom is within you!

2 Samuel 9:7

So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”

When the people in the palace heard that King Saul and his son Jonathan had died in battle, they panicked. Fearful that David was coming to seize the throne, and kill all the sons and grandsons of Saul, they ran for their lives. A nurse took Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, and ran. But as she fled, the five-year-old boy fell and became lame in both feet. (2 Samuel 4:4) The poor boy would not have become crippled if they had known that David actually loved Jonathan and Saul, and would have looked after Jonathan’s son because he had made a covenant with Jonathan. (1 Samuel 18:3)

In this story, King Saul represents the human race. He is like Adam who sinned against God and forfeited all that God gave to man. He had the position, but not the power anymore because of sin. Jonathan, who came after Saul, represents Jesus, who came as a human. Jonathan was not like Saul – he was good, just as Jesus is not like Adam – Jesus is the perfect Man. David represents God. So Jonathan’s covenant with David speaks of Jesus’ covenant with God. Mephibosheth represents believers today who are “lame” in some way – sick, depressed, fearful, poor and so on.

Now, Mephibosheth became lame because of bad news that was based on a lie. Many believers today are suffering needlessly because they believe the wrong things about God. They think, “My sin has found me out! God is coming after me!” Well, I have good news for all Mephibosheths: David is not after your life! When David looked for Mephibosheth, it was to show him kindness, to take care of him and restore to him the land that had belonged to Saul his grandfather. Likewise, God is not out to get you. He knows all about your sins and still loves you. That is why He sent Jesus as the payment for your sins. And because of Jesus’ covenant with Him, He says to you, “Don’t be afraid, I will surely show you kindness. I will restore all to you and you shall always eat at My table!”

1 Corinthians 11:24

…and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Have you ever taken a close look at the Matzah bread that the Jews eat during their Passover meal? The bread, which is unleavened, is pierced with rows of little holes forming stripes. It is also slightly burnt. Many churches today use this bread for the Holy Communion. Do you know why the bread is pierced, striped and burnt? The bread that you hold in your hands when you partake of the Lord’s Supper speaks of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ when He bore our sins and sicknesses on the cross.

Like the bread, He was also pierced in His brow by the crown of thorns as well as in His hands and feet by the nails. He was also pierced in His side by a soldier’s spear. The prophet Isaiah says, “He was pierced for our transgressions…” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV)

Like the bread, He was scourged on His back until His flesh was all torn and bloody, and His bones were exposed, so that today, you can say, “By His stripes I am healed!” (Isaiah 53:5) What about the burnt marks on the bread? The full fire of God’s wrath fell on Jesus, burning up our sins into ashes, and at the same time, bringing out the fragrance of the offering of Jesus. Today, your sins and lawless deeds are but ashes, and your Father in heaven remembers them no more! (Hebrews 8:12)

So the next time you partake of the bread during the Holy Communion, know that Jesus was pierced for your sins and scourged for your healing. He bore God’s fiery judgment so that you will never be judged for your sins! He also bore your diseases and carried your pains so that you can walk in divine health!

When you discern these precious truths about our Lord’s body, you are partaking of the Holy Communion in a worthy manner. And you will not be weak and sickly, nor die before your time. (1 Corinthians 11:27-30) No, you will be strong and healthy, and you will live long!

2 Corinthians 3:6

…for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

To the Jews, the feast of Pentecost is a celebration of the giving of God’s law. It takes place 50 days after the Passover feast. When God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, it was 50 days after they had celebrated their first Passover and come out of slavery in Egypt.

But what happened after God gave them the law on the first Pentecost? Three thousand people died! (Exodus 32:28) Contrast this with another Pentecost in the New Testament. In the book of Acts, it says that when Pentecost had fully come, God gave not the law but the Holy Spirit, and what happened? Three thousand people got saved (Acts 2:41), which goes to show that “the letter [the law] kills, but the Spirit gives life”! The law, which was”written and engraved on stones”, ministered death. It killed 3,000 people. That is why the apostle Paul calls it “the ministry of death” and “the ministry of condemnation”. (2 Corinthians 3:7-9) On the other hand, the Spirit ministered life – 3,000 people got saved. When you come under the law by trying to keep God’s commandments in order to be blessed, it will lead to death. There will be deadness in your marriage, ministry, health, career, and in your life. But when you depend on the Spirit of grace, it will lead to life. You will see breakthroughs and miracles (Galatians 3:5), and manifest the fruit of the Spirit.

So if you want to be blessed, make sure that you are on the right mountain. The law was given on Mount Sinai, but the Spirit on Mount Zion. That is why the Bible says that “you have not come to the mountain [Sinai] that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest…But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels”. (Hebrews 12:18, 22) The Lord blesses you out of Zion (Psalm 128:5), and not Sinai!

By grace you have been saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) Now, continue in the Spirit of grace. Remain on the right mountain and He will continue to supply miracles in your life!

Deuteronomy 28:3

“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.”

You may have heard of people who think that to have better “luck”, they have to move to a new home, work for a certain company or even move to another country. The truth is that it is not the place that gets you the blessings, but whether God’s blessing is on you. And for you, child of God, you are already blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:3) He has paid for your blessings with His blood. So the blessing is not on the land but on the man!

It was in the city of Jerusalem that Jesus was whipped, cursed and spat on. And it was outside the city on Calvary’s hill that He was pierced and crucified. That is why you are blessed in the city as well as outside in the country! In fact, you are blessed regardless of your location. Perhaps you work in a non-Christian company and your boss doesn’t quite like you. In fact, he sometimes mistreats you. But God can still bless you in spite of your boss. You get blessed because you believe God for it. It has nothing to do with your boss or the company.

So why don’t you see the blessings? If you don’t see the blessings, check what you have been believing and saying. Some people complain and blame everyone and everything around them – their parents, race, gender, environment and government – for their lack of blessings. I want you to believe and confess that you are blessed because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, not because you are of a certain race or work in a certain place.

It does not matter where you work or live, what color your skin is or what you do for a living. If God blesses you, you are blessed! And it is all because of Jesus. So say to yourself, “I am blessed wherever I am – blessed in the city, blessed in the country!”

1 Corinthians 2:16

…we have the mind of Christ.

Have you heard things like, “I must be losing my mind since I can’t seem to remember anything anymore”? Maybe you have even said it yourself a couple of times! But who says that as you grow older, you are supposed to forget things?

When the late Reverend Kenneth E Hagin was in his eighties, he was still healthy and strong. This amazing man of God would run around the platform as he preached. And those who have heard him preach would tell you that he had an amazing memory with which he could recall specific details such as the day of the week that a specific date fell on and even the time. Even at that age, the man’s memory was superb! He once shared how he had started to forget things when he was in his fifties. He had read a medical journal which said that every day millions of cells in our brains die. He didn’t realize it, but those words got into his spirit and he started to forget things.

So he asked the Lord, “What is happening to me?” And the Lord said, “You read that article and you believed it.” He repented and asked the Lord what he should do. The Lord said, “Confess My Word. My Word says that you have the mind of Christ, and the mind of Christ never forgets.” He started to confess that he had the mind of Christ and that was how his memory remained sharp for the rest of his life.

The Word of God says that you have the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is not old, slow or forgetful! I don’t care how old you get. You don’t have to become forgetful. Don’t believe and confess what medical science or your friends say. Believe and confess the Word of God which brings life.

The power of life and death is in your tongue. (Proverbs 18:21) So use your tongue for life. Don’t sit around saying, “I am getting old and forgetful.” Say, “I have the mind of Christ. My mind is sharp and quick because it is the mind of Christ!” Believe it, confess it, and see your thinking and memory live up to it!

Exodus 15:26

…I am the Lord who heals you.”

Do you know that the first compound name that the Lord revealed to the Israelites after they came out of Egypt was Jehovah Rapha, which means the Lord who heals you? It was as if He was telling them, as they began their new life with Him, that He had already healed them of all the diseases and pains they suffered when they were in bondage in Egypt. Indeed, when He brought them out of Egypt, “there was none feeble among His tribes”. (Psalm 105:37)

Today, just as the Israelites were delivered from their bondage in Egypt and from slavery to Pharaoh, you have also been delivered from the bondage of sin and sickness, and from slavery to the devil, by the blood of the Lamb. And the Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, still says to you, “I am the Lord who heals you.”

If the doctor has given you a bad report regarding your health, don’t despair. Look to Jesus and expect healing for your body. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still Jehovah Rapha – the Lord who heals you!