Than he that is in the world.” 1John 4:4 Jesus told His disciples that
He gave them power to loose
And the power to bind.
Yet, I’m of the opinion…
People of the church
Would rather sit in the player’s dugout “box”
Than step up to the plate
And go to bat for God;
Take aim, hit the home run,
And round the BASES for the prize of the high calling in Christ -
“Attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:13
They rather continue to take little baby steps,
Being led by the hand,
Than stand on the faith which moves mountains.
Rather remain on the sidelines
And wait and watch for the parade,
Rather than step in the line and
March up the kingdom highway
To see,
And be the glory of God;
Would rather stay in a protected little corner,
Than move against the rushing tide
Of hypocrisy and idolatry of religiosity,
Because it suits the purpose of false piety;
Rather allow the shadows of death
To surround the soul,
Penetrate and infiltrate the spirit,
Than take up the sword of the word
And shield of faith
And knock the ball and chain out the park;
Would rather live the life of a miser
With little hope, little love, little wisdom,
Little minds, Spinning a web of futility,
In captivity to strongholds of deception,
Dishonesty and pretense.
Which are causes for a stymied, thwarted
And hindered condition;
Rather than boldly enter into the gates of life in abundance
In Christ
Where the fulfillment of the purpose of God resides -
To be transformed into the image and likeness of the Son of God.
“For verily I say unto you,
That whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
And shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe
That those things which he saith shall come to pass;
He shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you,
What things so ever ye desire when ye pray,
Believe that ye receive them, And ye shall have them.”
Mark 11:23-24
But too many would rather hold on to petty grievances -
Refusing to shake free of the binds of the mind
Which close off the Transforming Light;
Would rather be blinded in the pit of envy and jealousy,
Un-forgiveness, pride, arrogance, superiority, vanity,
And self-importance;
Would rather be cloistered in robes of superstition
And self-righteousness;
Would rather let the devil have the glory -
Calling his name out from the pulpit,
Giving him pomp and props
For his prowess and “busy” marque;
Rather than let Almighty God be the glory -
Giving Him the praise for His Sovereignty in
All the heavens and the earth.
He Who Is The omnipotent, invincible, supreme One.
The Creator of the heavens and the earth!
Who reigns throughout the universe!
Who set all things in order!
According His divine will and purpose!
He Himself says in Isaiah 44:24 -
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
Who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord,
Who made all things, Who alone stretched out the heavens,
Who spread out the earth By Myself…”
He says in Isaiah 45:7 -
“I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create evil (calamity);
I, the Lord, do all these things.”
In John 17, it is written,
Jesus has been given power and authority over all flesh.
He said, in John 10 of His sheep,
“No one is able to snatch them out of My hand.
My Father Who has given them to Me,
Is greater and mightier than all;
And no one is able to snatch them out the Father’s hand.
I and the Father are One”
He says in John 14,
“I assure you, most solemnly I tell you,
If anyone steadfastly believes in Me,
He will himself be able to do the things that I do.”
“If we accept the testimony of men,
The testimony of God is greater (of stronger authority).
Because it is the testimony of God,
Which He has given about His Son." 1 John 5:9
But its seems the Church would rather hover
In the over-coat of darkness
Than come out from under cover
To see God’s all-mighty hand in their midst;
Than look out to where God stands on the shore
Beckoning to the Body… Come forward in Me,
Grow in the One giving light to the day,
Who is the Will and Way
To transformation into sons
Of His righteousness
To be His Healing Hands,
His Illuminating Voice,
His Ear to hear,
His Mind and Might,
His courage and hope,
His unconditional Love,
His grace and mercy,
His wisdom and Truth,
His brilliant Light.
Perhaps we’ve been sitting too long
On the comfort couch feeding from the plates of
The televised and legalized,
The normalized and formalized religion
Of hopes “un-realized,”
Faith “hypothesized” and “conceptionalized;”
Where less of Jesus materialize.
“There are many today who have their confidence
All the time, in things seen.
If they would only get their eyes on God instead of
On natural things, how quickly they would be helped.
There are many people getting cross-eyed
This way these days;
They have one eye on the doctor And one eye on Jesus.”
-Smith Wigglesworth-
Jesus said –
“I am in My Father, and you are in Me,
And I am in you.” John 14:20
“But (still) some of you fail to believe and trust And have faith.”
John 6:6
As Paul said, so stoically,
“It is no longer I who live,
But Christ lives in me; and the life I live in the body,
I live by faith in the Son of God.” Gal. 2:20
“God has designed that the just shall live by faith.”
“There is nothing impossible with God.
All the impossibility is with us
When we measure God by the limitations of Our unbelief.”
-Smith Wigglesworth-
Which brings me to the point of this piece:
I was led to believe that my sister would be healed,
As divinely foretold -
That she would live And not die. (Ps. 118:17)
A prophetic assurance
That she would “glow” into health
Through the power of the Mind of Christ being manifested.
I was led to believe
We would witness the hand of God touching the very place
Where the cancer resided
As God
Is indeed able!
And so recorded in the covenant of promise.
“You have not chosen Me,
But I have chosen you and appointed you (planted you), that you might go
And bear fruit and keep on bearing,
And that your fruit may be lasting,
So that whatever you ask the Father in My Name,
He may give it to you.” John 15:16
“You can do nothing of yourself,
But He that is in you will win the victory.”
“We must be covetous of God’s best gifts,
And say amen to any preparation the Lord takes us through
In order that we may be humble,
Usable vessels through whom He Himself
Can operate by means of the Spirit’s power.”
-Wigglesworth-
But I question -
Are we prepared to partake of the healing cup;
To be witnesses To the power of the resurrection
In our ordinary lives - those united in this body of faith?
Do we believe Jesus did all manners of miracles
Under His own power and authority given to Him by
God the Father?
Or are we merely participants in a religious order,
An organized discipline, a societal classification,
Or perhaps, a fellowship association?
Do we have the steadfast, unswerving faith, that
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and said –
“Come forth!”
As He said to the man at the pool –
“Take up thy bed and walk.”
As He said to the man who inquired on behalf of his daughter –
“Because of your faith, she is healed.”
As He said to the blind man, the crippled, the leper –
“Be healed!” Jesus spoke to demons
And they fled into the swine and drowned in the sea.
He said to the blind beggar who sought Him out to receive his sight…
“Go your way, your faith has healed you.” Mark 10:46-52
A woman touched the hem of His garment,
And she was healed. Luke 8:43-48
When the only son of a widow woman,
Whose son had died and was being carried out,
The Lord saw her; He had compassion on her and said…
“Do not weep…”
And He said to the young man,
“I say to you…Arise.” Luke 7:12-13
Even when doubters and unbelievers,
Laughing and scorning His healing power
Were amassed around and about Him,
Jesus, after putting them out of the house,
Grasped the hand of a young girl
And in His authority! Called to her…
"Child arise.” And her spirit returned
And she immediately arose. Luke 8:49-56
Jesus said in John 11:40, “…If you would believe
And rely on Me, you would see the glory of God.”
He further says in John 16:23/24 “I assure you,
Most solemnly I tell you,
That My Father will grant you
Whatever you ask in My Name
(as representing all that I Am) …
Ask and keep on asking and you will receive,
So that your joy may be full and complete.”
“God can change the hardest situation and make you know
That He is almighty.” -Wigglesworth-
Are we so unprepared for this ministry of faith?
This calling, this mission, this work of God.
We were made to be great!
To be a great work.
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
A holy nation, a people belonging to God,
That you may declare and set forth the wonderful deeds
And display the virtues of Him
Who called you out of darkness
Into His marvelous light.” I Peter 2:9
Is the influence of the ego a hindrance?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to it as
"The drum major instinct."
"We want to be important, to surpass others,
To achieve distinction, to lead the parade...
The desire for recognition, for importance..."
“Our paramount need is more perfect love.
It will always be willing to take the back seat.”
-Wigglesworth-
“We can have the gifts of healing
And the working of miracles in operation
Only as we stand in the divine power that God gives us
And we stand believing God, and having done all,
We still stand believing.” -Wigglesworth-
I believe- with the faith instilled in me at my mama’s side;
I believe – in the revelation of His appearance to me as a young child.
I believed Jesus, the Lord God, would prove my faith
To be evidenced in the manifested gift of healing to my sister.
But death came a’callin’ for her.
She reached out her hand
To mine,
Her spirit quickened
As I stood over in disquiet alarm.
Sorrow coming into my broken heart
Bearing witness To her soul depart.
She was gone…
Transitioning
To another home.
I called her name,
Hoping…
The missive would be instrumented
Still
Hoping…
That she would fix her eyes on me.
But she did not.
She was gone.
Her eyes were lifeless.
And I question.
What was the purpose to be called to a pronounced level of faith -
The high calling of God in Christ Jesus,
And not realize the desired results?
Was it wishing upon a star?
But it was the Star of David I have pinned my hope,
Who has spoken - "I, Jesus, Am the Root and the offspring of David,
The radiant and brilliant morning star…” Rev. 22:16
Was it not in His purposed plan
To demonstrate His healing power in the light of our day?
Because, perhaps, the objective was
Pragmatic “Preparation.”
What are the lessons I am now to learn?
“It seems to me until God has mowed you down
You can never have this long-suffering for others.”
“There is a fruit of the Spirit that must accompany the gift of healing,
And that is long-suffering.” -Smith Wigglesworth-
I thought back on when I believed
God would heal my mother, my dear beloved Iris,
My sister, Johnetta.
But they died too.
I did give pause during my assigned vigil
On these thoughts I had written in my journal -
"Maybe this is all preparation.
For the partakers of the anointing to be bestowed
To the called-out sons of God
Being prepared to enter the day of Jubilee
In steadfast obedience,
Unwavering faith,
In spite of the obvious -
Recognizing the sovereignty of God;
To grow in greater depths of reverential love in God
And for God."
“Lord I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief
(my weakness of faith).” Mark 9:24
I’m told…
A faithful man called to serve God in healing ministry,
Believed God had given him charge
To be a deliverer of healing to a particular brother.
He was to Trust God.
And stand obediently and diligently
In faith-believing that God’s will was to heal this brother.
But the brother died.
And when this servant left in despair and broken hearted,
God said to him,
“A broken heart is an open heart,
And a heart that God can fill with Himself.”
The servant’s spirit was lifted
And he continued to step out in faith-healing
When called upon.
“I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose
Of Yours can be restrained or thwarted.” Job 42-2
God Says to me in this hour…
“Trust the Lord with all thy heart and lean not
On thy own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock,
If anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice
And opens the door, I will come in to him
And will sup with him, and he with Me.
He who overcomes, I will grant him to sit
Beside Me on My throne,
As I Myself overcame and sat down beside My Father
On His throne.
He who is able to hear, let him listen to
And heed what the Holy Spirit says to the assemblies.”
Rev. 3:20-22
"Although Jesus was a Son,
He learned obedience
Through what He suffered.” Hebrews 5:8
I am also in analysis,
It accompanies this piece
Challenging my ego, my doubts and failures to believe,
Questioning my steadfast faith.
I am not above those to whom I speak.
“I call on you brethren, to listen patiently
And bear with this message of exhortation
And admonition and encouragement
For I have written to you briefly.” Hebrews 13:22
Love, Ruth
