Mark 16:18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and IF THEY DRINK ANY DEADLY POISON, IT WILL NOT HURT THEM; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (ESV)
No Deadly Thing
Prov. 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. (NKJV)
Psa. 32:7 You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. (NKJV)
Psa. 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. (ESV)
Is. 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (ESV)
Psa. 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psa. 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
Psa. 23:3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Psa. 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Psa. 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psa. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (ESV)
Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (NKJV)
1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (ESV)
Today more than ever we need to be convinced that “no deadly thing” will harm us:
We also kept our Healing School open during both SARS and the Bird Flu
They didn’t require masks and I didn’t wear one - I sincerely believed that no deadly thing could harm me
STORY: John G Lake
We’ll look at factors that help our faith to be effective - “No Deadly Thing”
Here’s what I have seen happen:
Firstly: Not Prepared - We can know scriptures and truth we heard previously taught - things we from days gone by - yet it isn’t fresh to us - we haven’t fed on it for weeks and months - We aren’t ready for a battle when we are in that category
STORY: Bro Hagin - coming back into town - from long trip
Secondly: Out of anger - we can not wear masks out of anger - “look how they made everyone fearful!!” — we may think that is faith - but that isn’t faith - we aren’t ready for battle in that category either
Thirdly: We can think the virus isn’t really real - I at first was in this category - but too many of our friends in the States told us of the people dying - Denial - we aren’t ready for battle in that category either
This is all true with the vaccine too:
STORY: what I did to my family…(How we love family - I was embarrassed that I did something to put fear into them - instead of faith
It’s really important to be prepared for battle - NO MATTER WHAT YOU DECIDE on with the vaccine - IF you DO or DON’T - DO IT IN FAITH - stay built up in the area of protection and healing
If you choose too: DO IT IN FAITH - (if the only reason you get it - is in the event you catch the virus it won’t be severe - you have ALL your faith in the vaccine - why NOT have faith in the GOD WHO CAN GIVE SUPERNATURAL protection - (the same God of John G Lake) - stay built up in the area of protection and healing regardless
WHATEVER WE DO - WE DO IN FAITH
Steps to Divine Health and Protection
One: Faith, Foolishness, or Presumption?
The precious man who came up with this title was Fredrick K Price
It was very helpful to many people - knowing how to identify and know - AM I in FAITH? ACTING in FOOLISHNESS or AM I in PRESUMPTION
STORY: Fred - Kidney Stones
Acts 19:13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”
Acts 19:14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
Acts 19:15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognise, but who are you?” (ESV)
Just because someone else does something - it doesn’t mean we can copy them
Why did they do it? How did they do it?
Luke 24:45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. (NKJV)
When we see and understand - it makes all the difference in the world
Eph. 1:16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
Eph. 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
Eph. 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, (ESV)
We are told to pray for understanding: (God doesn’t tease us)
The Spirit of wisdom and revelation of Him along with the eyes of our hearts being enlightened guarantees we aren’t acting in foolishness or presumption.
Two: The Right Blueprints - (Our Boundaries Defined)
ILLUSTRATION: I worked as a machinist - every once in a awhile one of us would misread the a blueprint
Misinterpretation of the scriptures, is misinterpretation of Divine boundaries.
“The Bible is the Word of God: supernatural in origin, eternal in duration, inexpressible in valour, infinite in scope, regenerative in power, infallible in authority, universal in interest, personal in application, inspired in totality.
Read it through, write it down, pray it in, work it out, and then pass it on. Truly it is the Word of God.”– Smith Wigglesworth
Three: Know Your Responsibilities - (Application of the Covenant)
ILLUST. - when building a home - you have responsibility and the builder does - once you chose the blueprint - who does what?
Who is doing what - What does God do - What do I do
THE OLD under law: Based on the individuals performance - their behaviour - what they do
When they do all the laws - THE LORD KEEPS SICKNESS OFF THEM - NOTICE the responsibilities
THE NEW under GRACE: It’s based on the individual’s faith
Deut. 7:15 and Jehovah hath turned aside from thee every sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt (which thou hast known) doth He put on thee, and He hath put them on all hating thee. (Youngs)
When they obeyed - the Lord kept sickness off of them
James 4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. (NET)
ALSO: We’re are instructed to speak to our mountains - we’ll look at this later
We see we have a different responsibility in the New Test:
Our goal is to be in faith - we resist the devil - and he flees
We speak to mountains and move them
It’s based on our resisting the devil and speaking to our mountains
(Closely related) Around 3 weeks ago we looked at how quickly restoration was for the prodigal son - The throne of grace - it’s important to understand this - CONFIDENCE of HEART
James 4:6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”
James 4:7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. (NET)
Four: The Right Beliefs - (Our Boundaries Ingested and Understood)
Psa. 119:105 Your word is a lamp to walk by, and a light to illumine my path.(NET)
The right blueprints result in the right beliefs - which results in the right boundaries
Is. 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. (NKJV)
In 1910 in the midst of a worldwide pandemic known as the bubonic plague, the government was offering large sums of money for anyone who could help. So many were dying and there were not enough people to remove the bodies of the dead. Of the few that were well enough, most were too fearful to enter people’s homes.
John G Lake found himself in this highly contagious region and he offered to help, but asked for no payment. He would go into houses where the stench of sickness hung in the air, and carried out the bodies, often having to bury them in mass graves, there were so many. But he had no fear of catching the disease.
A doctor sent for Lake and asked, “What have you been doing to protect yourself? Lake replied, “I believe that as long as I keep my soul in contact with the living God so that His Spirit is flowing into my soul and body, that no germ will ever attach itself to me, for the Spirit of God will kill it”.
Amazingly, Lake asked the doctor to experiment by taking the foam from the lungs of a dead plague victim and putting it under a microscope. The doctor did that and found masses of living germs. At Lake’s insistence, the doctor spread the deadly foam on Lake’s hand and observing the results under the microscope, he was astonished to discover that all the germs died instantly. Lake told him, “That is the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus… When a man’s spirit and body are filled with the presence of God, it oozes out of the flesh and the pores and it kills the germs.”
Rom. 8:11 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. (ESV)
Five: The Right Words - (Our Boundaries Constructed and Enforced)
ILLUST. - More Missiles are fired at Israel than is reported in the news: The IRON DOME has been such a protector for Israel - It’s right there - BUT what if no one was manning it? No one pushed the buttons and fired the defence missiles? It would be wasted
Everything God promised us and wants for us can be forfeited - IF we don’t do our part:
LOAD the AMMO - Our Boundaries Ingested and Understood
But it NEEDS RELEASED
We decide what we want: (as long as it’s in the Word)
Just a reminder - I have said it before - there has to be a promise to claim, and a call from God to answer
Unless you are called to be a prophet - you can’t use faith to become one - confessing I am a prophet without grace to be one - only disappoints and frustrates
The same is true with promises - if there is a promise - it’s ours to believe and confess
Psa. 91:10 NO EVIL shall befall you, NOR SHALL ANY PLAGUE COME NEAR YOUR DWELLING; (NKJV)
Mark 11:23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (ESV)
The extent of our boundaries is in proportion to our knowledge of what belongs to us.
We then construct / erect / build / and enforce our boundaries by what we believe and say.
Eph. 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (ESV)
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