Can I Trust You?
Kris Vallotton recently said something that captured my thoughts: Don’t trust a man without a limp. He didn’t take credit for the saying, it was something he’d heard from someone else. It immediately apprehended me. He was of course referring to Jacob’s encounter with the angel as he returned to his home land. After wrestling with the angel all night, Jacob declared he would not let the angel go until he received a blessing and his name was changed to Israel. Sometime during this encounter, the angel touched Jacob and his hip was wrenched. Hence, he walked with a limp the rest of his days. Bottom line? A divine encounter should produce something more than a warm fuzzy. It should be identifiable – a distinct change.
Is That A Rock In Your Shoe?
What is your “limp?” What do people see about you and say, “That person has encountered God and it changed them.”? Interestingly enough, most people point to the sin they’ve left behind as the mark of an encounter. That’s important! But have you ever read the Book of Acts? It does not talk about the sins of the apostles but the acts of the apostles. Throughout the gospels, there is no emphasis on Jesus training his disciples to good as much as he taught them to perform acts. Acts of faith. Acts that required them to partner with the supernatural factor called Holy Spirit. Acts that were beyond their natural ability. Acts that were a proof and sign they had encountered God.
I Am The Church, You Are The Church, We Are The Church Together!
For me, practicing the gift of healing is a pretty big limp. Most believers will pray for someone but won’t pray with them. I struggle with this. If Jesus is the healer, the church is the gateway through whom the healing is released. What is hindering us? The fear of failure? The fear of success (pride)? The fear of looking foolish, of rejection, of disappointment? Yes to all these and a few more but I think the greatest hindrance to the body of Christ is a lack of training or discipleship. We have an expectation that if we feel awkward or ill equipped, we will fail. Like we can’t evangelize until we know the whole Bible. The problem with that is we say we need know the whole Bible but we never actually start reading the Bible. In the same way we are awed by the one guy who has successfully demonstrated the gift of healing as someone who has the “anointing” and we fail to pursue training ourselves. Jesus valued training. That’s why he spent 3 1/2 years discipling fishermen and tax collectors.
No Snakes Will Be Present
According to Mark 16:17-18, we should be shaking up the world as part of normal Christianity. In other words, our faith should look like something. I am extending an opportunity for training to you. Please join the Legacy House team for training in how to pray for the sick this Sunday night at 5:30 at River Valley Church in Tulare, California. Let’s dismantle everything that has hindered us from living in a way that causes people to say “They have clearly encountered God.”