Wednesday 03-06-13 - Living Grace Fellowship

And He Healed them all: The Healing Ministry of Jesus VI.mp3

Podcast: Download (10.0MB)

Key Text:

Mark 10:46-52

Luke 4:31-44

Luke 5:12-32

Luke 6:6-11

Overview:

A thought I used tonight to illustrate that healing is the will of God in His Kingdom is that once mankind let the rule of God and placed themselves under the rule of satan – sickness, disease, affliction, lack and death came as the result. So if in your life and body there are indications of the “other kingdom or indications of your former lord, then you are not as you were designed to be – you are broken and need fixing. Jesus said it this way,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~ John 10:10

Any way you view it, one of the primary examples of Gods Kingdom in manifestation is healing…

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.” ~ Matt. 9:35

Not only is Jesus the Good Shepherd, as His sheep we MUST set an expectant gaze upon Him – looking to Him as to receive help from Him, for He is also…

The Author of our faith – Hebrews 12:2
The Developer of our faith – Hebrews 12:2
The Protector of our faith – Mark 5:35-42
The Restorer of our faith – John 20:27
The Intercessor for our faith!- Luke 22:31,32

…and above all He is the focus of our faith – that is to say He is the center of our relational trust!

As the patterned Son (meaning the Son after whom all other son’s and daughters pattern their lives) Jesus living IN US is the highest, most noble and in fact only goal of all our faith! It IS our hope of sharing in His glory – Christ IN US! But Christ in us only occurs as we place our relational trust in Him completing in us what He began – Phil. 1:6.

Where is this work He accomplishes in us?

Is it in our spirits? No – that work is already done – II Cor. 5:17; Rom. 7:15-23.

Is it in our bodies? No, that work will not be done until the restoration of our souls – Rpm. 8:10-23; I Cor. 15:35-57

So it must be our souls He is completing His work within…

“Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you have to suffer various kinds of trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, which is more valuable than gold that perishes when it is tested by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him. And even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” ~ 1Peter 1:5-9

So even if I am coming to God in relational trust for the healing of my body – ultimately my goal MUST be the reconciling of my heart to His. In the midst of that act will be the recovering of the health of my body…

“But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” ~ Rom. 8:10-13

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!