In Hebrews 11:6 it says,

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is , and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

There are a few things in this verse that really jump out at me. As a grateful and loving son, I want to please my Father, but according to this the only way I can achieve this is through Faith. Not through good works, loving my neighbor, or going to church. All those things are wonderful things that should be fruit that sprouts from us as we walk in the Spirit and in His Name, but they are not what pleases God. It is Faith.

The next part that jumps out at me is that we must believe that He is (this is where the faith part kicks in). Believing that God exists is not to out-of-this-world extraordinary. Studies say that 70-75% of Americans believe in God. But what makes this verse unique is that it doesn’t stop there. It says that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

WOW! Do you believe that?! He will reward us if we diligently seek Him. This is what pleases Him. It pleases Him for us to live in faith believing that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who Diligently seek Him.

Let’s take a step back and think about the reward that this is talking about. A reward is something that is given above and beyond what was expected. (Have you thought about all that He has given us?) Then let’s look at who will be doing the rewarding, We are talking about God here. The creator of the Universe. With words He created the heavens and the Earth. He measures the mountains and the seas in the palm of His hand. Darkness can not exist in His presence, He is Love. He gave us what was most precious to Him…His Son. What else could He possibly give us? As to quality, He would give us nothing less than Supernaturally wonderful and eternally good. Any gift or reward He would give would be invaluable, monetarily or otherwise. He has made everything unique and special so what ever He gives will be just as unique as you and me. he knows what we like, and want…and gives us the desires of our heart. So we don’t have to worry about having to return it, we will definitely want it and enjoy it.

What an amazing reward.

And what is expected to receive this reward is very easy and agreeable. It doesn’t require pain, hardship, loss, lack or anything else that might feel necessary to gain the reward. It takes that which comes naturally to every loving son or daughter, to seek Him.

Seek him in the morning, and in the afternoon, seek Him in your business meetings, and conversations with your family and friends, have Him present in all your activities. If you let Him, He will give you insight and talk to you about all that is happening around you. Don’t fool yourself by thinking that seeking after God is only reading the Word. It is much greater than that. But it will come naturally when you fall in love with Him and let Him hold the first place in your life.

Related Articles

• God Kind of Faith (mikewil82.wordpress.com)

Paul declares something very interesting, that we too should incorporate in our witnessing. We should present the Word, the Way, the Kingdom with the demonstration of the Spirit and with Power.

These two additional activities (if we can call them that) cause the faint-hearted to pause and deny that it is a necessity to do them. Or they might complain and say that they were for a different time. – I, very kindly, disagree.-

In 2 Timothy 3:5 Paul speaks about those who deny the Power. Paul isn’t referring to people who say “There is no power in God.” but those who do not walk in the power. Many would say that they are powerful men of God because they speak with authority, but remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2 where he makes it plain that it wasn’t with the authority or wise or convincing words that he (Paul) spoke to the Corinthians.

Now, I am not advocating not talking or speaking or witnessing in any way. I am simply saying we should take it to the next level as Paul says in 1 Corinthians and add to our words…POWER and the DEMONSTRATION of the SPIRIT

In thinking this through, and searching the Scriptures, here is what I have found.  I give it to you all, because I love you and I am still your teacher!  Use it as you see fit, but it is for you and your children…

Before I really get into this, remember that suffering in Middle English carries the definition of ‘allowing’ or ‘tolerating’ as well as being subjected to or experiencing something bad or unpleasant (He has suffered since his imprisonment), being affected by an illness or ailment (He suffers from insomnia), becoming worse in quality or condition (The book suffers from misuse).   So we could rephrase the question: What is a Christian to suffer and what is he to suffer not?

If you want to see God’s will in action, without man’s interference, you have but to look at the recounting of the creation of the world.  Suffering was not included with the blessing which God spoke over man and woman when He made them.  Nor was it part of the creation which God called ‘good’ at the end of the sixth day.

So suffering came about later, as a result of man’s disobedience to God’s commands.  The woman would give birth with toil and the ground would only yield with toil.  Man’s assignment was to subdue the earth, but now it would be hard work, it would cost him.  He was excluded from the beautiful place, the garden made for his dwelling, and from the source of his life.  God walked in the garden, but man could not walk there any longer.  He could no longer walk with God.  The principle of rebellion and anarchy had been let loose upon man and his descendants.  Suffering began.  Life without God is suffering.

Yet, in the midst of the curse that came upon man for his disobedient choice, God makes a promise of salvation, a promise that takes thousands of years to come to pass.  Jesus is born, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).  He suffered in our place (Isaiah 53), and in Him we have been made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).  As He has borne our sins, He has removed from us our disobedience, and we now have fellowship with the Father.  We may now call Him Father, as Jesus called Him Father (Galatians 4:6, 7).  We have been born of God’s seed, of His Word (John 1:12, 13).  We are new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In what He has suffered for us, we may not suffer for each other.  It pleased God that his Son take our place and suffer in our stead that we may be reconciled to God.  Yet, are there things that we must suffer with Him, or in the same manner He suffered?  I know that there are.

Jesus learned obedience (Hebrews 5:8) through the things He suffered.  He laid aside his Heavenly advantages when he became a man (Philippians 2:6-8) and became obedient to the point of laying down his life for us.  It is clear from his suffering in Gethsemane that He did not want to ‘drink this cup’, but it was his Father’s will (Matthew 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42).  In that, we will most certainly suffer with Him.   Learning obedience speaks of denying oneself, one’s own desires, one’s own answers or responses, one’s own wants and will.  To obey God rather than our own mind is a kind of suffering, and obedience is required of a Kingdom man.  It is the basis for which we recognize Jesus as Lord.

Jesus taught that He would suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes in Jerusalem (Matthew 16:21).  He was reviled, rejected, spat upon, accused, and finally He gave His life (they did not take it from Him).  He said that we may be happy when men revile us, persecute us or say all manner of evil against us (Matthew 5:11), who hate us, who separate us from them, who reproach us or say that our name is evil (Luke 6:22) for the sake of Jesus.  Not everyone wants to hear the Good News.  It is usually the news bearer that carries the brunt of the anger against the Good News.  This also we may suffer.  This does not mean, however, that we just have to ‘take it’, or ‘suffer’ it.  A crowd at Jerusalem took up stones to kill Jesus, and He escaped miraculously (John 10:31-39).  Another crowd from his hometown of Nazareth took Him and meant to throw Him off a cliff headfirst, but He just passed right through them (Luke 4:28, 29).  Peter was broken out of jail by an angel, and Paul and Silas freed from a prison by an earthquake.  They didn’t just lay there and suffer.

Jesus gave His life; He laid it down.  No one took His life.  His death was a voluntary act, in obedience to His Father’s will (Matthew 26:23, 24).  He had the power to escape, had He invoked it, yet He chose to lay His life down for us.  What a powerful choice!  Of the heroes of faith honored in Hebrews 11:32-39 are both those who, when faced with death, escaped through faith by miraculous circumstances, and those who made the choice to lay down their lives, instead of escaping.  We must remember that what they did was an act of their faith, not the result of their inability to escape or the inevitability of the circumstances; it was their choice.  Today, there are places where some lay their lives down willingly as the final punctuation point to their life message of God’s love for man in the midst of people who are stone-hearted and cold toward God.  One may also read of others who chose to live and have escaped from certain-death experiences by the hand of God.  Did God ask the martyrs to lay down their lives, or did they do it out of love for the lost?  All we know about these remarkable people is that they did it by faith.  If you ever face that decision, do not let the circumstances decide for you.  Circumstances had no power whatsoever over Jesus or any of those who gave their lives by faith.  Were it otherwise, they would not be mentioned.  Their deaths, although lamentable, would have been no more remarkable or meaningful than the thousands of homicides that unjustly occur around the world daily since the death of Abel, the son of Adam.  In that moment, the choice will be yours to make, to lay your life down by faith or to take it up by faith.

Are there other kinds of suffering Christians endure?  Any able and effective soldier knows that he will be placed in the battle, and as such he may endure hardship (2 Timothy 2:3).  It is not in vain that we are told to be strong in the Lord and are given the armor of God to stand fast against the evil one (Ephesians 6:10-18).  So, we are sent into the darkness to bring light, we are sent among the sick to bring healing, we are sent among the hungry to bring them food, we are sent among the oppressed to bring liberty. We are sent as soldiers to destroy the works of the evil one.  Imagine the foolishness of a soldier who accepts the darkness, the sickness, the hunger and the oppression as suffering sent from his commander!  Yes, my captain, God sent you there; now go to work through His power and your faith and change it.

Paul and the writer of Hebrews speak of our lives as a race.  The discipline involved in running a race could be considered a kind of suffering.  Having to lay aside certain things, having to deny ourselves others, the focus required not just to run, but to run to win, are all necessary sufferings to ‘get the gold’.

Paul speaks of another suffering (Galatians 4:19), and we see it reflected in Jesus’ tears for Jerusalem (Luke 19:41).  Love brings its own suffering.  A mother loves a child and suffers with him until the suffering has been removed, Paul loves the Galatians and labors that Christ be formed in them, and Jesus loves Jerusalem and yet sees the results of the stubbornness of her inhabitants.

Yet there are many things we are not to suffer (or to suffer not).  He was bruised and beaten, wounded for my transgression, that I might be healed in Him (Isaiah 53).  He made Himself poor, that I might be rich in Him (2 Corinthians 8:9).  I am redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).  So neither poverty, sickness, nor any other thing mentioned under the curse has any part in my life.  The first Adam brought us death, a curse and condemnation, the second Adam has brought the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness whereby we reign in life (Romans 5:18).

Is it possible for a man to be poor for Jesus?  The real question is: if God were to command a man to give away all his physical wealth, could he remain poor?  Of course not!  If we honor Him with our wealth, He blesses and multiplies us (Proverbs 3:9, 10)!  If we return a tenth of our income to Him, He rebukes the devourer and opens the flood gates of Heaven upon us (Malachi 3:10, 11)!  Jesus promised that man 100 times what he would lose of give up for the sake of the Good News (Mark 10:30), not in Heaven, but in this time.  He has given us the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) to establish His covenant.  Such a gift could never leave a man poor.

Is it possible for a man to be sick for Jesus?  Certainly not!  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), He healed all those who came to Him then, He has not changed.  Sickness is a curse, not a blessing.  It was not a part of those things God called ‘good’ in the garden.

What about work, was it not part of a curse that man should toil, that his work should be hard?  A curse did come upon the land for man’s disobedience, but a man’s assignment doesn’t have to be toil or suffering.  Man was given an assignment, but it became hard and a suffering only when stopped listening to God.  It wasn’t until the time of Adam’s grandson Enos (born when Adam was 235 years old) that man again began to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:6).  Nevertheless, men who have trusted God have always found how to do what had to be done, even when the circumstances were contrary.  Abraham and Isaac always found water when they dug wells; God prospered Isaac even when he sowed in time of famine; Jacob prospered even working for Laban; God inspired Bezalel for work with stones and precious metals (Exodus 31:1-4); Joseph prospered everywhere he worked and became the most powerful man in a nation where he had worked as a slave; David didn’t need a degree in engineering or architecture to design the temple or choose the materials (1 Chronicles 28:11-19) because God gave him the knowledge; Daniel and his coworkers rose to top-ranking positions in a foreign government; Jesus took Peter fishing and showed him the difference between working and toiling all night long in his own strength, and working just a few minutes under the direction of the Master (Luke 5:1-11).  The Scriptures are filled with stories like these.  Solomon sings in Psalm 127, that there are those whose toil is from day to night just for food to eat, but Yahweh provides for those whom He loves while they sleep.  If Yahweh does not construct the house, those who labored there worked in vain.  You can choose how you wish to work, but God’s way is best.  The righteous shall live by faith, not by the sweat of their brow.  With men there are impossibilities, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  It is preferable to work with God.

The book of Proverbs lists many bad choices and the consequences of choosing wrongly.  You really can’t claim that you are suffering for Jesus as long as the test and trials come about as the result of unwise, bad, uninformed choices you have made.  Choosing to lean on your own understanding instead of God’s is just not wise (Proverbs 3:5, 6).  God has always been available to men willing to forsake their own opinions, ways, ideas, thoughts and take up God’s ways (Isaiah 55:1-13).  Man has always gotten into trouble and into suffering for doing things his way.  As an example consider the fact that man gathers in large cities, which are a major source of suffering, lack of employment, transportation, lack of resources, lack of provision, excesses, taxes, hygiene and waste problems, accidents of all manner and crime.  The ‘city’ was not God’s idea (Genesis 11:4).  It is a very natural thing to blame God for our problems and suffering.  It started with Adam (“The woman YOU gave me handed me the fruit!” – Genesis 3:12) and continues to this day (A man foolishly twists his own way, and then blames God for it -   Proverbs 19:3).  Believers are not exempt from choosing wrongly; living by the Spirit cannot be a ‘sometime’ thing.  God did not choose this suffering for man.  Man did this, and continues to do it, all on his own.  The book of Proverbs is also a book about right choices, and the blessings that come about when they are made.

What about the suffering from afflictions?  Doesn’t stuff just happen to good people as well as ‘bad’ people?  Don’t the righteous have afflictions?  Yahweh is their rear guard (Isaiah 58:8) and delivers them out of them all the afflictions (Psalm 34:19)!  I think it is interesting that although the Bible talks of drought and famine, those that called upon Him always found more than enough food and water.  It is interesting to note that no one who called upon God is reported to have died in any of the natural disasters of the times, such as shipwreck because of storm, etc. (things that the insurance company describes as ‘Acts of God’).

Are their tribulations in the world?  Of course!  Fear not, for He has overcome the world along with its tribulations.  Does the enemy resist? We have the authority of the name of Jesus and Son-ship with the Father to make the enemy yield.  We have the Father’s armor to stand fast.  Does the devil test our faith?  Count it joy, because your faith wins every time!

If He sends me into the dark, it is to bring light.  If He sends me into the prisons, it is to set men free.  If He sends me against the enemy, it is to show the enemy he is defeated.  This is not suffering, this is VICTORY!

With love and joy!

Dad

September 12, 2010

Until the day we actually left for Mexico, my Dad continued to teach in churches and home groups and when he would tell people that he was going to the “Mission Field” I noticed a different response among people than the one I felt. Their faces closed down or became “compassionate” (i.e. feel sorry or pity). And even today, when people mention the word “Missionary” their minds are full of images of poor, and needy people living in hardship. In fact, when I hear those people called into the Mission Field, they sound resolved to live destitute and to endure hardships. But this popular view is wrong and, to a degree, offensive.

At nearly 40 years old I can say that I see things differently. I’ve been lived more overseas than I have lived in the US. I have been the Missionary. I have lived as a Missionary and a Preacher’s Kid. The way I see the world and the way I live my faith has matured. I must admit to you that I still believe that living as a missionary is adventurous and fun. I must also point out that God isn’t the only one who has Missionaries. A Missionary is much more than just a person who teaches and or preaches.

In first place, let me tell you that the USA has Ambassadors in many countries throughout the world. Each Ambassador is assigned to an Embassy and that Embassy reason for being, along with all those assigned to it is called the Mission. When a person is assigned by the State Department or the Department of Justice, or the Depart of Agriculture to the Embassy of what ever country, it is said that they are part of that Mission. So in all effects of the word they have become “Missionaries” of that Embassy.

In fact, they are asked to behave in such a way as to truthfully represent the Home Country i.e. USA. They are told that their activities, their actions, their conversations and friends reflect what the Mission is all about. So what is the Mission about? It’s is about representing the Home Country and it’s interests. It shows the strength, the power, the wealth, and the influence the Home Country has and is. It promotes commerce, communication, travel, and trade among the Home Country and the Host Country. It is a place for citizens of the Home Country to go to receive aid and support while in the host or foreign country.

But what I would like to emphasize is that the missionaries are not poor, destitute, living in hardship. I would imagine that the U.S. would frown on anyone assigned to the Mission that was living that way. In fact, the Ambassador (the ultimate representative of the Home Country) is surrounded by guards, and assistants. He or she lives in a nice house, and has his needs catered too. The Ambassador holds periodic meetings with the host country dignitaries and measures his/her words to say that which would reflect the interests and position of the Home Country.

It is interesting to know that we are representatives of a heavenly kingdom. We are God’s Ambassadors. We represent His Kingdom. It is true that we are Missionaries the moment we are assigned to His Mission. The Mission God has called us to is to “represent” and tell the World of His Kingdom. (Mark 16:15-18 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”(KJV) Matthew 6:9-10 “This is how you should pray. ” ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored.  May your kingdom come. May what you want to happen be done on earth as it is done in heaven. (NIV))

Our Mission is to bring the Kingdom of God to this Earth. So anything and everything we do should be done towards those ends. This revelation should reflect on how we see and expect a Missionary to be. They are representatives of the Kingdom. They aren’t supposed to be poor, nor would it be God’s will for them to be. On the contrary, since they represent the Kingdom, Missionaries should be attractive in every way. And when a person is called to a poor country it isn’t to be pitied but to be rejoiced and celebrated, since God is, in fact, sending an emissary to a needy country to supply it’s need, not with words alone, but with power, authority, rain, prosperity, health and a future.

An Ambassador is never alone. He speaks with his entire nation behind him. His words are backed up by the Armed Forces, Commerce, the Blessings of his nation, and the threat of holding his nation’s wealth from anyone who refuses their diplomatic note. If it is certainly true that the physical world is only a shadow of the Spiritual, then how much MORE should we walk with authority as Ambassador’s here on this Earth (aliens in a foreign land) declaring God’s Kingdom with every action, Every Word. Missionaries

The word “Gospel” means “Good News”. It comes from the Olde English gōdspel, from gōd [good] + spel [news, a story]. It is the word used to define the Latin word eujaggelivzw, which means the following:

Jesus preached the Gospel Matthew 4:23 “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” Matthew 9:25 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Matthew 24:14 Mark 1:14 Mark 10:29*

We’re told to preach the Gospel. Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Luke 9:6 “And they departed , and went through the towns, preaching the gospel , and healing every where.

In several places the Word specifies that Jesus preached the Gospel to the Poor. (Matthew 11:5, Luke 4:18, Luke 7:22)

So what did Jesus teach? When he was teaching in the synagogue one day he opened up the scroll and read Isaiah where it said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ” (Luke 4:16-18) In another time He was asked how to pray and He responded “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:8-10)

Jesus’ Gospel is clear. He came to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven is here. In Luke 10:1-9 and in Mark 6:7-13 He sent out His twelve and 70 others to replicate His teaching. Where ever Jesus went He healed all those who were oppressed, He preached the GOOD NEWS to the poor and healed the broken hearted. Should we do any less?

We shouldn’t explain away the Good News but embrace it. We shouldn’t condemn the Good News or define it in order for it to fit our religious thought but look at the Word and see what it means and see what accompanied the preaching of it. We should teach the Gospel, and according to the Word, the GOSPEL is much more than just the salvation from our sins.

Please understand that this blog is not a contentious one and will not bring down or talk poorly about anyone. I will write about the Word and what it says.

All questions are welcome. Please be as clear as possible.

The word from the Pulpits across the World should always be the following:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. And Love your neighbor as yourself. In doing so, we open ourselves up to allow His Glorious Power to work in us and through us (Eph 1:18-19).

As a result of the above and the exceedingly great and abundant grace He has shown on us by redeeming us from evil and our sins. We preach Ephesians 1:21 where Paul points out that Christ was raised far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named. And then in Ephesians 2:5-6 Paul connects the dots and reveals to us that we were raised with Him and are seated with Him. We are Co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) and if that weren’t enough in John 17:23 Jesus is praying that we would realize that God loves us just as must as He does Jesus. Religion would have us believe that we could never reach those levels.

No doubt Christ has all authority and power and glory just as it says in 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. No one disputes that. No one preaches that we deserve anything less than death. But that was before He showed His amazing grace on us and redeemed us by the blood of the Lamb. He picked me up like a beach comber finding a treasure in the sand. He dusted me off and placing me beside Him.

• Did I deserve it? No
• Did I do it on my own? No
• Am I, now a co-heir with Christ? Yes
• Does that entitle me with certain rights and privileges? Yes
• Do I have to wait until I can enjoy them? No

That says it all. Doesn’t it? “If He who did not hold back His only Son how much more will He give all things.” (Romans 8:35)

I could go on. I could explain the “ask and receive, knock and it shall be opened, and seek and you shall find” verses that Jesus preached. Or make emphasize on Jesus’ words “Ask God anything in my name and it will be given to you.” (John 14:14, 16:23-24)

It’s all there in the Word. It doesn’t require a special degree or schooling to learn and grow in it. But we do have to remain vigil to the Religious thoughts and ideas. They spring up in response to tragic stories. Human nature yearns to explain away personal responsibility by pushing it off on God. Religion says “Little Jimmy died, because it was God’s will.” “Frankie has cancer so God can teach something to him.” Even though the Word Says that Scripture is used to teach and instruct, and death belongs to the thief, not to the Light in whom there is no shadow.

So the question is “Shall we place personal experience, and third-party stories over what the Word says? Shall we use them to interpret the Word or shall we use the Word to interpret the stories and experiences?”

I have found this topic to be particularly interesting, especially since it’s the one which is used to link those who preach The Word with Mormons, it’s the one used to cry heresy, and many times used to accuse of New Age teachings.

But let’s go back to the Word, and see what it says. In Genesis we see that God created us in His image and likeness. (Genesis 1:26) Some like to argue this point and try to explain away what exactly this means. But let’s just take it at face value “In the image and likeness of GOD”. Then He did something He hadn’t done with any other creation. He breathed into man His breath of Life. (Genesis 2:7) We have been made the Righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) We have been raised up with Christ and placed in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:6) We are God’s heirs and Co-heirs with Jesus. (Romans 8:17) His Love is poured out in our hearts. (Romans 5:5) and many other examples….

So we look like Him, His love is in us, we are literally His children, we are His righteousness, His power is in us, we have been given authority by Him through Christ, His breath of Life is in us. So I would venture to say that in the Spirit (at least) we look like God. We call ourselves children of God but Religion refuses to let us see ourselves like God sees us. Just like my children are little me’s…So we are little Him’s.

We aren’t little gods like the Greeks worshiped. Zeus, Athena, Sophia etc. But we are His children and made in His image.

——————- Look at what Jesus said……

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, I said , Ye are gods?” He was referring to Psalms 82:6 where it says the following: “I have said , Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”

Our Lord said that we will be persecuted as He was persecuted. But He never preached poverty for those who followed him. He said give and you shall receive. He told the rich young ruler give away all that you have to the poor, but then He also said in Matthew 19:29 that if we leave or give our positions for the Kingdom we would receive a hundred fold back. In Luke 18:29-30 it makes it even more clear that we will receive it in this lifetime, and in the ages to come eternal life.

He told us to take up the cross and follow him but religion has focused on the weight of an actual oak cross built to carry a man. Jesus on the other hand was clear in describing this walk. Mark 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Mark 11:30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Further more in Philippians 4:19 it says that God will meet all our needs according to His riches in glory.

In Hebrews 11 often referred to as the “Faith Hall of Fame” we see Abraham the father of our faith and the richest man in the land, Jacob was asked by the Philistines to leave the land because he was too powerful and his flocks competed with the Philistine population, he sowed in famine and reaped a harvest of a hundred fold. We see Moses the leader of millions. Rahab the prostitute condemned to die with all of Jericho, was set free, saved her entire family and became the grandmother of David, and Solomon. And the list goes on with kings, judges, prophets, and other great men and women of God. All those who trusted in God and believed were saved, rescued, and set free. Their lives reflected God’s kingdom on Earth.

It should be noted that none lived free of attack. None lived without persecution. But I don’t know of anyone, who teaches the Word, who will venture to say that we in Christ will live free from attack. In verse 35 of Hebrews 11, we see why some of those mentioned were martyred. It wasn’t because God wanted it that way, it was their choice.

Religion would have us believe that God wants the majority of us sick, poor, or in some other “test”. But what does Jesus say? In John 10:10 He says that it is the thief that comes to steal, kill, and to destroy, in contrast He has come to give us Life and Life more abundantly. In John 3:16 (we all know it by memory) “…that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” The interesting thing is that the word “life” in both verses means the Zoe life of God. As you can imagine it means much more than just being able to breath. Zoe, in a few words is the life in all things, it means being complete and whole, it is the exact opposite of being dead, useless, damaged, or lack.

These aren’t my words or opinions. This is the Word of God.

In Luke 4:18 Jesus says that He is anointed to preach the Gospel (the good news) to the poor. In verse 19 He continues by saying he must preach the acceptable year of the Lord in other words the year of Jubilee. In that year all debts were canceled, all things that were pawned were returned. In other words everything was returned to its original state.

Our original state is the way God created us in the first place. Not the way we were born in the Earth but the way He created Adam and Eve. No sickness, No disease, no disfigurement, no lack. In fact He created Adam and Eve in a garden that was more that the couple needed, and He placed them in authority and power over the entire creation.

Jesus continues in Luke 4:43 by telling His disciples that he must preach the Kingdom of God. In Luke 9:2 He, in turn, tells His Disciples to go and preach the Kingdom of God and heal the sick.