What do You Want?

On March 10, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 21: 21 – 22

“Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the seas,’ it shall happen. And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.”

Jesus was keen on prayer. All things, when approached through prayer, are, he taught, possible. He didn’t need to speak to us directly on healing because he was interested in all things. The conclusion being “all things you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.” So, here is the question, have we asked, while believing, for healing. Let’s do that today, shall we?

What physical ailment have you? I know we often have several but let us choose one to focus upon today. Imagine Jesus is holding a healing meeting. You see yourself walk up to him. He asks, “What do you wish healed?” You tell him. Then he asks, “Do you believe I can do this?” What do you respond?

Jesus deals with a world of unbelief. In fact, most of the people who read this verse read it in unbelief. Want me to prove it? When Jesus spoke of casting the mountain into the sea, was he speaking literally or metaphorically. Most people do not believe Jesus was speaking plainly. In fact, Jesus had a very difficult time being understood because when he was being quite literal, people took him as speaking figuratively. Let me give you the inside scoop on the meaning of today’s verse. Jesus spoke literally. He meant exactly what he said. You don’t have to look for the hidden meaning. He meant that if we understood and believed, we have power over the physics of this planet and could, literally, cause the mountain to be removed. However, because of doubt and unbelief, we have made his words capricious, though that is not how most of us would describe Jesus. So, it turns out that we only categorize him as fanciful when we encounter statements that our faith is too small to handle. This, then, is the task, to believe Jesus. How can he teach us if we will not take him at his word? Do we believe him or do we not? If we will answer this very basic question, we can move forward.

In yesterday’s Word of the Day, Jesus taught that God would do what we ask when two or more of us agree about anything. Today we learn that anything we ask will be done for us if we ask without doubting. This is where the work comes in. Twice Jesus has said that Father will do all things for us, but the condition of faith is sometimes a tough hurdle to get over. We have a difficult time believing Jesus’ words. How, then, are we going to believe he will actually do what these scriptures promise? Harder still is that we must move out of our thinking centers, our minds, and into our believing centers. You would either call that your heart or your spirit. You see, we sometimes “believe” with our minds though doubt remains in our hearts. How can that be? Well, your mind is not your believer. What we really should say is, “I think that is true,” because we are actually thinking in agreement, but have not graduated to believing in agreement with Jesus. How do you get your spirit to come into alignment with Jesus’ words?

It comes down to these tools again: mediation, prayer, visualization, rehearsal. This is where it is beneficial to write down a key verse and talk with Jesus about it continually. Visualization is very helpful. See Jesus sitting in a chair at your house and ask him to teach you how to have the kind of faith you need. See him sitting there teaching you and even praying for you. Watch as he lays his hand on you and prays for your healing. Do this until the switch goes on inside you. All of a sudden you have an “aha” moment.

These things should be the most natural things in the world, but because the world is broken, it has come down to work for us to believe and see as we should. You, however, are built as a faith machine. You are God’s own handiwork. Listen to me in this! He has prewired you with the network to believe all things. You even have the capacity to look with your God given visionary ability and see that mountain get up and jump itself into the sea. Do not be discouraged. Jesus sends you this good word today so that you will be encouraged. All things for which you ask and believe, you shall have. It has been proven time and time again. You are the blessed, living in the blessing. This is your birthright and God’s will. Fire up that believer and ask what you will because the Father is willing and waiting to get into agreement with you. What do you want?

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Let’s Agree

On March 9, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 18: 19

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”

One of the characteristics I like about this verse is the emphasis one can hear in Jesus’ tone. It is clear that he is being emphatic on this point about agreement. I wonder if it was a new concept to the disciples, this idea that there is power in agreement.

Jesus is talking about prayer here, but it goes beyond just muttering some words. Jesus is talking about two of us, any two people it seems, being of one mind on a topic and then asking Father to do something specific. He was teaching people to pray a prayer of agreement. When we combine our spiritual energy in agreement, Jesus says Father shall do what we ask. That seems like a pretty big promise to me.

So, what does this look like in practice? Well, pretty different from most of what we have been taught about prayer. We have mostly learned of prayer being a solitary event. There is nothing wrong with praying in solitude, but we have not learned, or been taught, about praying together or about agreeing in prayer and that is a shame. We have raised an entire generation of people who are embarrassed to pray in front others. Clearly that is not what Jesus intended.

So, what does this have to do with healing? I would begin to answer that by saying that any lesson on prayer has a large impact on healing. Second, prayer can, and should be more than solicitation. In its basic definition, prayer means to ask for something. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, isn’t that what Jesus is talking about here? However, being in communion with God is another important aspect of prayer. What do I mean by that?

Positioning ourselves, spiritually, so that we can speak with the Lord and hear Him speak to us is life blood. Suppose you and a friend wish to pray for healing for yourselves or another. As you slow yourself down and tune your spirit to hearing what God has to say, He may bring a scripture to your mind, or He may lead you in a specific direction for your prayer. Imagine the impact that has, not only on your prayer, but also on your faith. However, think about this for a moment with me. If you receive in your spirit guidance from the Lord on what to pray, doesn’t that mean that you are getting into agreement with Him? Surely, knowing you are praying the Father’s will stimulates faith and belief.

Here is the short and simple of what you should take away from today’s verse. Jesus taught his disciples to pray together and to set their hearts and minds in agreement. Do not believe for a moment that your prayer closet is the only place to pray. Your kitchen with a friend is an important sanctuary. If we understand this, grasp it, and begin to pray together, we will revolutionize the church and the way we think about prayer. In the process, we will revolutionize our lives too.

If you need healing, get someone to pray with you, for you.  Don’t be bashful.  Be healed!

 

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Willing

On March 8, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 8:2-3

And behold, a leper came to Him, and bowed down to Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

People have messed up this passage so completely, but we are here to set the record straight today. This passage is more of Matthew recording the miracles of Jesus as proof of his deity. What we were supposed to learn from it was first, that Jesus heals and second, that he is willing to heal.

It was forbidden to touch a leper. Doing so would make one unclean. In fact, the question arises as to why this leper was even in town. The beginning of the chapter tells us that a large crowd surrounded Jesus, so this fellow was mixing in a crowd. Lepers were supposed to isolate themselves outside of town. Then Matthew makes a point of saying that Jesus touched this guy. There are several messages there, but the one I wish to highlight is that Jesus became ceremonially unclean when he touched the fellow. Jesus knew the law. He knew the implications of touching the man. Okay, but then the leprosy was cleansed so what are the rules now? Legally Jesus would have needed to go through the rites of ceremonial cleansing, but do you see how he turned the law on its head? Most importantly, the chap was healed. Jesus proved his willingness to heal.

Here is how we have turned this passage on its head. We have made this passage a question about Jesus’ willingness to heal rather than a statement. The passage is Jesus saying, “I am willing.” We no longer need to ask him if he is willing to heal us. It is said and done. I hear people say often, “If God is willing.” We get prayer requests for healing on our Prayer Request page expressing the same uncertainty, and if you have ears to hear, doubt. We don’t know if God will heal or not, don’t know if He is willing or not, so we overload our immediate environment with the doubt ladened words of, “if He is willing.”

Well, let us put that to bed forever. God is willing! Remember yesterday’s verse where Jesus healed all. He didn’t discriminate but was willing to heal all. Re-read today’s scripture. Jesus said, unequivocally, “I am willing.” We know “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever,” (Hebrews 13: 8). If he was willing 2000 years ago, he is willing today. He doesn’t change. He has not gone hardhearted on us during the ensuing years.

If you had any doubts about Jesus’ willingness to heal you, I hope they have been resolved today. He healed all the people who presented themselves to him, not choosing between them. He healed the blind, the crippled and those with infectious disease. He healed the broken hearted and abused. There is not one ailment, malady or disfunction that he is not willing and able to heal today. Let his willingness to touch you be resolved in your heart and mind today and forever and let that understanding heal you.

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All

On March 7, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Mathew 8:16 -17

And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases.”

In telling Jesus’ story, Matthew recorded scriptural prophecy being fulfilled. We read this passage from the Prophet Isaiah last Wednesday. It is Isaiah 53: 4 – 5. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would bear our infirmities and diseases in his body and that by his stripes, we were healed. Jesus took our infirmities, all of them, and he carried away our diseases.

You can hibernate on that language for a long time. If he carried away our disease, where did he carry it? I have a theory on that. I believe he took all of the disease straight to hell and left it there. He didn’t take it to heaven for goodness’ sake. Further, if he took our infirmities, then we don’t have them. Is that right? How can we have what he took? Also, have you thought about the word infirmities. I think that is worth mediation and journaling. What condition do you have in your body that could be classified as an infirmity? It can be any physical weakness. From our youth people, even Christians, convince us that our infirmities, our physical or mental weaknesses, are ours for life. We learn how to manage our infirmities, but first we must accept them. I believe in getting all the help you can from all the sources with healing modalities. I do not, however, believe the infirmity belongs to you or that any of us should accept those abnormalities as our normal. Scripture says Jesus took our infirmities. We have to establish who we are going to believe.

I am not trying to tell you that sickness and disease aren’t real. Injuries, disease, birth defects, that is all real world stuff. I am trying to get us all to believe what the scriptures say and to understand what Jesus did for us. Look again at Isaiah 53: 5, “But he was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging (stripes) we are healed.” We accept, wholeheartedly, that the piercing of his hands and feet to hang him on a cross was successful at taking away our sin. And as an aside, where do you think he left all that sin? Anyway, if we can believe that part of the verse, why are we challenged to believe the second part?

Isn’t this part of the good news? In fact, when I tell you that the scourging Jesus endured did for your health what the cross did for your eternal soul, that he has taken your infirmities so that your body is healed every bit as much as your soul is cleansed, isn’t that great news? How many messages have we heard on what the cross did for us? Have you heard even ten percent as much on the great miracle of healing? Why did Jesus endure such torture? It was not for salvation. It was for healing. Yet, we don’t preach this, or at least, not like we should.

Here is my point. First, you and I have been conditioned to be sick. We have been taught since we were children to accept infirmity and just live with it. Second, we have not been taught the good news about Jesus as healer. If it had been drummed into us at a young age like John 3:16 has been, we would be better able to believe. But since it wasn’t, the work is on you to reverse your programing.

Matthew is making a point in this passage. He is proving to people that Jesus is the Messiah because his healing of people is the fulfillment of scripture. This is an enormously important scripture and lesson. It is by healing that Jesus showed his Messianic mission. The proof was in the healing. It makes perfect sense too because we already know that God said, “I am your healer.” Then, when Jesus came to earth and healed in accordance with scripture, he showed that he was, indeed, from his Father. He healed according to the power that was within him. The Jews of the age should have been able to reconcile all of this for themselves. Some did, but mostly people were unable to connect the dots.

Matthew used examples of Jesus’ life and ministry to prove his deity and here it is. He healed all that were brought to him. In fact, there is not one circumstance where Jesus didn’t heal a person who asked to be healed. This passage specifically says he healed “all.” That is important for us to realize. Maybe that one word is what you needed to hear to make this whole series come alive for you. Jesus isn’t a specialist. He didn’t only heal skin disease. He didn’t only heal orthopedic issues. He didn’t have his apostles sorting through everyone putting them in groups of diseases over which he had authority and others he couldn’t help. He healed all!! Come on. Let this fire up your spirit!!! If you were in that group that day, the pain and infirmity that you carry in your body right now would have been vanquished back to hell where it belongs. YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN HEALED!

So, here is where we are. What makes Jesus different from today than on that faithful day? What makes our infirmities different from those people’s infirmities? If Jesus walked into the room you are in right now, would he have the same power to heal you that he did on that day? Or, maybe because he isn’t in the flesh, he doesn’t have the same effectiveness. What do you think?

This could be the day that you manifest healing. This could be your moment. There are some among you who will receive healing today. You will receive this good news and accept it into your bones and throughout all the tissue of your body and the good word will do its work. By his stripes you were healed.

Please write me and tell me about your healing!

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Integrated Word

On March 4, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 30:17

For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds.

This verse is special to me among the healing verses and here is why. When I was in my 20’s and just learning these verses, I didn’t have to deal with sickness, but I did have three nagging injuries from my days of playing sports. Injuries and wounds seemed similar to each other and different from sickness. The sickness and disease scriptures didn’t seem to apply to my injuries, so I was having trouble applying faith to those scriptures. I needed a verse that spoke to injuries and this one fit the bill for me.

Now that we are older and wiser, you and I know that every healing verse applies to every ailment regardless of type. An even broader perspective teaches us that the Word, in general, is filled with life so has healing in it. None the less, when you have something physical going on in your body, you need the verse that feels right in your spirit. I wrote early on that the verse which resonates with me at one time might not be the verse Father leads me to at another time. That is part of the value of this list. You will have a reasonably comprehensive list of verses to turn to when you have a need.

In that light, I hope you took my advice and made a list of these or have been writing them on index cards. This, truly, is an invaluable tool because it will help you quickly feed yourself in the time of need. When you read over them, a particular verse may grab your attention. If it does, that is the one you need for the present circumstance. That was the case for me with today’s verse. It sounded loud when I read it. To this day, when I read it I mentally replace the word “wounds” with “injuries.” Don’t ignore the first part of this verse though. It is equally appealing, “I will restore you to health.” You can’t beat that. It is exactly what we need to hear.

Now, let me remind you of one thing before I let you go. These verses are powerful spiritual tools. They are not, however, magic pills. You have to mix your faith and your words with them. This is the work you must do and why I think it is important that you write them down. When you find one that really goes off in you, make sure that you read that one aloud every day. I am not suggesting that you ignore the others, just that you want to latch on to the one Father is quickening to your spirit. You know that you have some promises from God. Now you have to ingest them and rehearse them. As you do, your faith will grow. Don’t forget that Father is watching over His Word to perform it and the angels are listening for these divine dew drops. Start speaking them. When someone asks you how you’re doing you can respond, “God has restored my health and healed my wounds. Praise God.” When you get out of a chair and your bones creak, you’ve got something to say. “Knees you have been healed by Jesus’ stripes.” Just don’t let these verses be a moment’s read. Make them an integral part of your life. Amen?

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Make the Call

On March 3, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Jeremiah 1:12

You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.

How many promises from God do we have from this series on healing? How much of His Word do we have? We have quite a treasure trove so far with more to come, but what does it mean that Father is watching over His Word to perform it?

God has given us His word. What does it mean when someone gives their word? It means we have a promise from them, doesn’t it? However, it is stronger than a regular promise. A person’s word is their bond. It is like an oath. Now, if a person’s word is their bond, how much stronger and more binding should God’s word be? It should be unbreakable. So, we have an unbreakable promise from God. What’s next?

God said He is watching over His word to perform it. It sounds like He is waiting for something to happen. What do you think that is? He is waiting for someone to call in His marker, to put it crudely. It is as if He has written us a check and He is just waiting for us to deposit it. When we do, He will then transfer the funds to our account. You know, that is exactly what a check is. It’s a promise to pay. Isn’t that what Father has given us? So, He is saying, if you understand this, then you have seen well because I am keeping up with those promises to fulfill them when demand is made.

Let’s get a bit more practical. So, we have God’s promise for health and for healing, separate promises toward a common goal. Now, how do we make a demand on that promise or how do we cash the check? God said He is watching over His Word. His Word is His bond. So, He is watching His Word for when someone draws on it. We know that salvation comes by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths. We saw in Proverb 4: 21 that we are to keep God’s words “in the midst of your heart.” We have also seen a number of scriptures which tell us that death and life, health and wellbeing are in the power of our tongues. It is, therefore, reasonably easy to conclude that Father wants us to believe in our hearts that He is our healer and wants us to be in health and to speak “His Word” in that regard. When He hears His Word being spoken, He performs it. He has legions of angels who hearken to His Word. They can’t help it. That Word is Jesus to them, so they are immediately attracted to it. When we get our Words in alignment with God’s words and when we intentionally speak His Word over our situation there is an angelic host ready to perform.

Look at this passage from 2 Chronicles, “Yahweh’s eyes scan the whole world to find those whose hearts are committed to him and to strengthen them.” (v. 16: 9 GW). God is scanning the whole earth watching and listening for people who will call on His Word. He is attentive to His Word and all the angels and heavenly beings are attracted to that Word. Thus, the way we “cash our check” is to believe the Word we have heard and to speak it with faith and confidence. Call in God’s marker. He has given you His promise. He has given you His Word. He cannot go back on it. You just have to call Him on it, just as if I made you a promise and you called me on the phone and said you were ready for me to fulfill my promise. He is watching and waiting. Make the Call!

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God with Us

On March 2, 2022   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 53: 4-5

Surely our griefs (sickness) He Himself bore, and our sorrows (pains) He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging (stripes) we are healed.

Many of you will recognize this language because it is quoted in the New Testament. We will cover that quote later. This is from the amazing prophet, Isaiah. You saw from yesterday’s verse how in synch he was with Yahweh God. What really makes the prophet Isaiah and his book so astounding is the revelation he had of Jesus. He is the one who wrote, “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7: 14). I tell you all of this so you will understand this prophet’s ministry and his revelation of the Christ. God showed him the Christ’s coming and ministry. He saw Jesus being born and later being pierced for us.

Let me say first, read this verse in many versions. There is so much here and so many nuances that I believe you could spend all week on this verse. Second, there is no way I can cover all of what this verse says in this mini-message. The sound bite we must leave with, the minimum comprehension is this, “By his stripes, we are healed.”

There are reasons for every part of Jesus arrest, sentencing and crucifixion. One piece of those events was the beatings he endured. I have thought of this so many times and am completely convinced that Jesus was beaten and bruised in every single part of his body. Even the soles of his feet were striped by the whips. Now here is what makes this challenging. Jesus intended that it be so because he already knew what Isaiah saw. He understood the prophecy and the healing that would ensue because of his beating. It may break your heart to think about it, but Jesus was bruised and beaten so that we could be healed.

If you’ve thought much about Jesus’ ministry you’ve come to recognize that he took all the bad things on himself so that we could have the good. Obviously, the biggest example of this was that he took our sins in trade for his righteousness. We got his righteousness; he got our sin. What a deal. The same is true here. Isaiah is trying to help us understand that our healing was in Jesus’ stripes. He bore our sickness in his body and carried our pains. The scourging he endured was the seed he sowed for our healing.

Now here is the bit I wanted to get to. I find this hard, but important and I have shared this with very few people. When I am hurt, sick or injured, I remember this verse and I remember Jesus’ stripes. I have come to understand that the reason he was bruised in every part of his body was so that every part of mine would be healed. So, if I hurt my ankle, I think about the stripes and whelps that were on his ankle and I know that his stripes have made me whole. When you are sick or hurt, you might do this too. Remember that Jesus was bruised in that part of his body so that you might be healed. Wear your healing like he bore those stripes.

One last note. We must understand when we were healed. In this passage, Isaiah was looking forward to coming events. He was before Jesus, looking towards the cross. Isaiah, seeing those events, said, “By His scourging (stripes) we are healed.” He said, we are healed, not that we will be. Isaiah places our healing at Jesus’ scourging. That is to say, you were healed 2000 years ago. That means, we aren’t trying to get God to heal us. That is said and done. We are trying to get ourselves in harmony with the Trinity, so that the healing and health which are already ours, is revealed in our lives.

Questions, comments? Click “reply” or go to Ask Ivey at IveyMinistries.org.

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