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No, this isn't an ad for insurance. After coming across this picture, I found that I just couldn't help myself. But when we think about insurance we sometimes think about sickness, hospital stays etc. This message will be about just that....sickness. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us so much. Enough to send your Son, Jesus, to die for us. To pay the penalty of our sin and rebellion against You a Holy God. Help us to love You too. With our life. Holy Spirit, please teach Your Word to us today. Your Word is life. Your Word is bread to eat and drink to drink. Give us ears to hear and above all...help us please Sir to be doers of Your Word. In Jesus name (covenant name) AMEN.

In our last episode we talked a little about how to hinder the miracles of God from showing up in our lives, primarily in the area of sickness. We can do that by not believing such things are or will come from Him and we refuse to give Him all the glory. Now lets talk briefly about where does sickness come from.

A few of the reasons are elementary and really don't need a lot of explaining. For instance we live in a fallen world full of sin and under the curse. Secondly we often bring sickness upon ourselves by not eating properly or using common sense in taking care of ourselves responsibly such as lack of sleep, working too hard or putting ourselves in direct contact with illnesses. But these work for all peoples, believers and unbelievers. Believe it or not, we as followers of Christ have even more reasons why sickness come.

In God's Kingdom sickness will come if we violate spiritual laws. The Word says God is not mocked. If we sow to the flesh we will reap destruction. We may also open doors to demonic activity through certain sins such as rebellion. Regardless, God is always in control over the children whom He loves and gave His life for.

Now we as followers of Jesus believe and know that we have been redeemed from the curse that fell upon all of creation because of the first Adam's sin in the garden. We also confess that by His stripes we are healed which means we believe He (Jesus) bore our sickness so we wouldn't have to. We also believe in divine healing. We go through healing lines. We get the elders to anoint us with oil and expect to be healed according to the scriptures. We believe the Word when it says God desires that we be healed and prosper just as our soul prospers. We take communion. We stand and stand and stand upon what we believe sometimes to the point of giving up when year after year goes by without results. Some of us have gone decades and decades with sickness, disease and severe discomfort racking our bodies.

I believe this is one of the most sought out things in the Body. And rightly so because sickness affects our spiritual life. Sometimes it is so hard to pray, read and concentrate when you are sick and in pain. But let me tell you this: I KNOW THAT I KNOW..HEALING AND SALVATION GO HAND IN HAND. With Jesus and the apostles we find this so. So what gives? Has the anointing been lost? NO, BUT IT HAS BEEN HIDDEN.

Many years ago I found myself in my pastor's office discussing this very subject. Why is the Body so sickly? Why do the same brothers and sisters go through the prayer line week after week about the same problems. Where is the gift of healing which was given to the Body of Christ by none other than the Head Himself? The answer came to both of us at the same time. The voice of Master spoke. Not audibly mind you, but His voice nevertheless spoke into our spirit. He said, "You are not walking in the Fear of the Lord." I can tell you that since then I have prayed, studied and read many books on the subject.

In a nutshell this fear of the Lord is the characteristic of a believer who has finally given up and has made Jesus the true Lord of his or her life. It is a life which is surrendered to God...totally. A life which is quick to obey the commands whether they make sense or not. I will touch on this most important subject again a few blogs from now. Watch for it. It will be titled, "OK, I GIVE UP." Meanwhile if you want to read about this subject yourself please pick up a couple of books which really explain it very well. They are Andrew Murray's "Absolute Surrender" and John Bevere's book titled, "The Fear of the Lord."

Trust me, (no, trust the Lord) in the New Testament when there were great outpourings of God's power, anointing and miracle power there were people who were walking as one with Jesus Christ. Be patient and expectful. The grace for all of us (not just a few) to walk in the Fear of the Lord will be conferred upon us soon enough. The devil has stolen long enough. You know what gets me through the times when I have so many questions about why, God, why and when, God, when? The following verse sustains me. It is found in Proverbs 3:5. "TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING." God bless and until next time always remember that God is good. ALL THE TIME.