RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

If you grew up after the war in Australia or another English speaking country, you may remember a conversation like this.

“Mummy, where do babies come from?”
“Babies come from Mummy’s tummy.”

• Of course we know that the tummy or stomach is for digesting food and babies grow in the womb, or uterus, a totally different thing. 

  • But in all three languages of the Bible, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, there is an interesting word which can be correctly translated as stomach, belly or womb.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his BELLY shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:37-38 (KJV)
But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:39 (NKJV)

• The word BELLY is the translation of the Greek KOILIA. 

• The equivalent Hebrew word is BETEN. When Jesus spoke these words in the temple, He may have been speaking Aramaic. 

  • The Aramaic Bible uses the word: K'aRSeH, which can also mean BELLY or WOMB. These words are often interpreted figuratively as HEART or INMOST BEING.

In the flesh, the womb and the stomach are quite distinct and only a woman has a womb. 

But in the spiritual realm it is a different story.

Jonah went down into the belly of the great fish or whale. When he came out of the fish’s belly, it was like a resurrection. The belly of the fish was like the womb giving birth to a new man.
The satisfaction of hunger and thirst sustains life. This is the function of the BELLY, to convert food and drink into life, to keep us alive and refresh us.
But the function of the WOMB goes further. The WOMB is the place where a seed sown grows into new life until a new person emerges. The stomach sustains life but the womb reproduces and multiplies life.
The inmost being of every born again Christian believer is potentially both a spiritual stomach and a spiritual womb. In this spiritual dimension there is no male or female. God desires to fill us with the Living Water of His Spirit to nourish, sustain and refresh us but He desires more. God fervently desires to satisfy our thirst but then to take us further, to make us bearers of new life for others.
To hunger and thirst for new life and refreshment in your own soul is not selfish. It is essential. But it is not enough. God wants his people to be like healthy young mothers, reproducing, multiplying, bringing new born again believers into the world.

• The conversion of unbelievers is the birthing of new life. Nothing is more wonderful than the restoration of a sinner to the heart of the Father in Heaven.

But evangelism is not the only way to birth a work of God’s Spirit. 

To sing an inspired song, write a book or paint a picture with God requires a joining together of the Spirit of God with the human spirit in an intimate connection like a husband and wife producing a new person. 

Every work of faith involves the bearing of living fruit, like giving birth to a child.

Have you been feeling tired and heavy lately? Maybe you need to stop struggling in your own strength. Get filled with the Spirit who can produce new life in you and then through you.
Or can it be that you are heavily pregnant in the Spirit?
Do you have a vision for a ministry, a mission, a book, a business, a child, a family revived and restored, a move of the Spirit in your city?
You may feel heavy because the baby is nearly due.
Be encouraged!
Christmas and New Year are seasons of New Birth, New Life, New Beginnings. Some of you are in labour now and your dream or vision is about to be transformed from faith into sight.
Please let me know what you think. I would love to hear some inspiring testimonies.

Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Believers

Dear Believing Friends
It is often said that when God wants a great work done, He chooses one man to pioneer and lead. It is not difficult to find examples in the bible or in history. It is easy to conclude that God’s operating principle is always to appoint a hierarchy and a clear chain of command. Most of our churches operate this way.

But when we read the New Testament, we encounter something new and strange. Jesus selected twelve apostles and He favoured three above the others, Peter, James and John. But there is something about the story which is so weird, that it is like something from another planet.

Jesus did NOT appoint one successor. Abraham appointed Isaac; Moses appointed Joshua; Elijah appointed Elisha and David appointed Solomon but Jesus did not appoint a supreme leader to take over after He returned to Heaven.

The Bible tells us a lot about the sins and faults of the Apostles and preachers love to make sermons about them.

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. Lk 22:24-26 (ESV)

What were the Apostles disputing? Was each of the twelve claiming to be number one? That would be absurdly childish. I have never heard a group of men or boys being so silly.

What most preachers fail to notice is this. Jesus had not conformed to the perfectly reasonable expectation of any group of leaders. Jesus had not appointed a single successor to be supreme leader after His departure. Peter was an obvious candidate but he could be impulsive and make mistakes. John was especially favoured and loved but he was the youngest. James was also a serious candidate. But who was the chosen one? Since Jesus had not told them, they did what any group of men would do. They tried to work it out themselves.

After Jesus returned to heaven, Peter seemed to take the lead in Acts chapters 1 to 3. Nevertheless, the writer of Acts emphasises the collective leadership of “The Apostles.” In Acts 2, Peter preached the first sermon but the main emphasis is on the inspired and inspiring unity of all the disciples.

All this is not because of any neglect or forgetfulness of Jesus or the Father in Heaven.
Jesus declared a whole new approach to leadership in Matthew 23.

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. Mt 23:8-10 (ESV)

This is so radical, that most Christians and most Christian leaders have not even begun to understand it. I have been a member of Pentecostal churches for 35 years and I have never heard any preacher, any teacher or any pastor seriously attempt to explain this vitally important text.

The mystery does not end here.

The first witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not an Apostle, or a Pastor or even an Elder.

It was Mary Magdalene, a woman with a sinful past and a testimony but not office or position in the church. When she told the Apostles, they did not believe her. Then Jesus came and rebuked the men of God for not receiving her testimony!

Leadership remains important but God’s way is somewhat different from what we normally expect in churches.

The founders of the first mission to the non-Jewish pagans were not Apostles and they were not appointed or sent by the Apostles.

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. Acts 11:19-21 (ESV)

If all this raises more questions than answers, that is OK. The New Testament text does the same.
I am not preaching Christian anarchy. I really admire great Christian leaders and many inspired preachers. But Christianity is not all about priests and people or shepherds and sheep. Coaches don't win football matches; the players do.
Jesus called a brotherhood of mighty believers who change the world. We must not rely on Pastors or leaders to do everything important and take all the initiative.

Please let me know what you think.
God bless you from
Bill Derham

Darkness to light. What message to preach?

Dear Believing Friends
There are preachers who always concentrate on positive messages. They speak constantly about the love and favour of God, about success and answered prayer and about reaching your potential in life. They present and important aspect of God's truth and I like to listen to some of that preaching.

But if that is all you listen to, you could become complacent about sin. The cross could begin to lose its meaning. After all, Jesus, the Son of God, had to suffer the cruelest possible death to pay the penalty of your sin and my sin. He was demonstrating not only the depth of God’s love for you but also the intensity of God’s hatred of evil.

On the other hand, there are preachers who constantly preach severely about sin, repentance and holiness. We cannot deny that there is always sin for them to preach against but which kind of preaching is more biblically correct?

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:6-7? (ESV)

Yes, we should preach against sin but the main emphasis must always be on the power of the grace of God to save and heal us from ALL sin. The blood of Jesus saves you from your own sin and heals you from the damage caused by the sin of others.

If we preach about sin and repentance, we must also emphasise the amazing glory of God’s purpose for forgiven sinners.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 (ESV)

Once our sins have been forgiven, we are transformed into saints, priests of God, sons and daughters of the Father in Heaven, kings who rule and reign over sin, demons, sickness, poverty and even death.

In preaching about the light, let us not be satisfied with a gospel of positive thinking and successful living. Let us preach the full extent of our glorious destiny in Christ. There is no such thing as an “ordinary Christian”. There are no common citizens in the Kingdom of God. Either you are an alien and an enemy of God or you are a Son or Daughter of the King of Kings. There are simply no ordinary citizens in the Kingdom. They don’t exist.

We honour Apostles and Pastors as special people and that is good. But two of the most highly honoured saints in the New Testament were Mary the Mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Neither of these women was an apostle or a pastor.

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Matthew 23:8-9 (ESV)

When Paul wrote letters to the early churches, he did not address them to the pastors, elders and then members. He began his letters like this.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:1 (ESV)

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a son or daughter of God; you are a saint; you are a holy priest; you are a king; you are an ambassador or official representative of God on earth.

If you are not all of these things, you are not a Christian at all. You are either a citizen of heaven or a citizen of hell and there are no common citizens in God’s kingdom, only royal priests.

Please let me know what you think.

God bless you from
Bill Derham

Finding God's GOOD PLAN for YOUR life.

Dear Believing Friends
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life." John 8:12 (NASB95)

Just find the path in life that GOD leads you into and HE will give you grace and help and guidance.

To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Luke 9:59 (ESV)

If you follow the path in life determined by the expectations of others, you will have frustration after frustration and your Christian life will be little better than hanging on until you get to heaven. Find God's plan for YOUR life at all costs!

Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT.

It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others. Ephesians 2:10 (TLB)

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)

Find the good works that GOD has prepared for you!!! (Ephesians 2:10)

Go and find your destiny. Your destiny is written in heaven but you have to find your script and live it out. It is not automatic.

Please let me know what you think.

God bless you from
Bill

YOU ARE UNIQUE.

CS Lewis was an English scholar at Oxford University. He was an expert in ancient languages and old English Literature. He was also an atheist until he had a powerful conversion experience. 

What should a new convert like this do if he wants to win thousands of souls to Christ and save even millions from damnation? 

Obviously he should use his talents to study theology, Hebrew and Greek and maybe Chinese, so he could be a pastor, a missionary or an evangelist.
He did none of these things. He continued to write scholarly articles about old literature and then God raised him up to write paperback books to stimulate people to think about God and the truth of the Bible.
His books are nothing like the books written by pastors, evangelists or theologians. Thank God they are unique and different! CS Lewis’s unique way of thinking has drawn thousands or perhaps millions of people to Christ.
Supposing CS Lewis had been converted in his twenties. And just imagine he had suffered a terrible mental breakdown. Suppose he had been torn apart by trauma and suppose he had been mentored by disciples of Kenneth Hagin or CH Spurgeon or by this or that anointed ministry. 
Supposing this broken young man had laid everything on the altar for Jesus. Supposing he had abandoned his passion for literature and original writing. Supposing he had used his great talents to become a good imitation of Kenneth Hagin or Charles Spurgeon or some other gifted preacher. HOW TERRIBLE!
Who are YOU?
If you belong to Jesus, you are a son or daughter of the Most High God. You are a representative of Jesus Christ on earth. But so are we all. I am these things and so are you.
But WHO ARE YOU?
Luke was not Paul but thank God they were different.
The great missionary who laid the foundation for the glorious Chinese church of today was Hudson Taylor. When he went to China, the missionaries lived in an English community separated from Chinese society. They won few converts and when a Chinese person came to Christ, he had to leave his people and become a second rate imitation of and English Christian. Hudson Taylor lived amongst the Chinese. He spoke Chinese and dressed like a Chinese man. He was criticised by both the Chinese and by the English missionaries but he sowed the seed for the mightiest national church on Earth, over 140 million Chinese Christians serving God today in spite of persecution.
Are you trying to fit in with the vision of someone else, a pastor, a parent, a Christian leader? If you never discover your unique personal calling and gifting, you will be devastated when you arrive in heaven.
Suppose you play soccer and you are gifted to be a wonderful goalkeeper. But your father and your coach was a great striker and you look up to him. You may waste your life trying to be a striker.
Suppose your father was a wonderful doctor but your passion is art or poetry and you have an outstanding talent. What if you waste your life trying to be a good doctor. How terrible!
Do you have the courage to be different?
Ask God who you are! Listen until GOD tells you! We often hear of VOCATIONS which means CALLINGS. 

You have a calling if you hear GOD CALLING! Ask and listen. 

• Maybe you already know but you are not following your calling. Maybe you are following someone else’s calling. It is time to change.

Seek and you will find.
'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

Go to where God is moving.

Are you praying and waiting for the Spirit of Revival to come to you?

Could it be that the Spirit HAS ALREADY COME to your city with fresh power?

Maybe HE is waiting for YOU to come and seek Him out?

PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD!

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Mark 1:4-5 (ESV)

Supposing the Jews had heard of John but continued their religious routine, attending the synagogue and the Temple as usual.

Supposing they waited for this new preacher to come to their synagogue (their “local church”). They would have missed the purpose of God for their life.

Later Jesus came and He ministered in the wilderness but also visited local congregations and preached in the Temple.

What if Jesus called a man to follow Him...

What if that man told Jesus he should remain loyal to his local Rabbi ...

What if he decided to wait for Jesus to visit his local congregation to minister once in a while....

Could that man be a disciple of Jesus?

When the Spirit of God moves in an exceptional way, He has a purpose.

We must adapt to fit His purpose.

We need to fit in with His choice of time and place.
We need to go where the wind is blowing.

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 (ESV)

We can learn a lot from surfers.

A mediocre surfer only goes to a beach near his home. If the waves are bigger, he has a good day. If the waves are smaller, he has a bad day or he doesn’t go.

Really serious surfers travel long distances to the best surf beaches with the biggest and best waves.

There are so many Christians who rarely go to a meeting outside their local congregation. There may be a world class preacher visiting a neighbouring suburb. There may be great miracles and healings but Christians who seriously need healings don’t go.

Some may be stuck in the routine of their local church activities. Some are actually taught it is their duty NOT to seek signs and wonders outside of their church or denominations!

What is the LOCAL CHURCH?

When Paul wrote his letters to local churches, he wrote to “The Church in Rome,” or “The Church in Corinth,” or “The Church in Philippi.”

Your local church is the community of all believers in your city, Perth, Sydney, Durban, Berlin, Auckland, Orlando Florida, or wherever you are.

This is the New Testament concept of the local church. Where is your local church? Jesus said this:

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20 (NKJV)

If you have a Christian workmate, neighbour or friend and you meet for fellowship or prayer, that is a branch of your local church. It does not matter which denomination we belong to. That is not an important issue.

If we are hungry and thirsty for God, we must be like the wise men from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem to find Jesus; we must be like the shepherds who left their sheep in the care of the angels to worship the Son of God in the stable.

We must be like the crowds of Jews who left the daily routine of their jobs, businesses and local congregations to go out into the wilderness. Why did they go? They went to be challenged with a life changing message from God through John the Baptist.

In our generation there are inspired preachers doing the ministry of John the Baptist and many people are going to their meetings and conferences. But there are other people who are stuck in a rut in their local congregations waiting for revival to drop on them where they are.

It is time to wake up and MOVE.

Some people might find this message controversial or difficult. I make no apology. I feel a strong touch of the Holy Spirit on me as I write and I believe this is a message from God.

Test all things; hold fast what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NKJV)

Please let me know what you think.

God bless you from

Bill Derham

 Here are some thoughts which I find inspiring. I hope they encourage you too.
Please let me know what you think.
God bless you from Bill

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV)
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.


God gives different gifts and abilities to different people. In this passage, Paul tells us that God gives special gifts and abilities to EACH believer. That means God has a special plan and purpose for EVERY human being. WHY? Because God sent His only Son into the world, so that every person would have the opportunity of deciding whether to believe and trust in Him.

The choice is yours but it is the intention of God that you will come to know the Father in Heave who sent His Son to live and die for you.

When you believe in Jesus as the Son of God and you become His disciple and follower, you are called by God to make an impact on the world. You are not called to be an “ordinary Christian” because in God’s mind there is no such thing as an ordinary Christian.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you don’t know your unique calling and purpose in life, you have an exciting discovery ahead of you and a life of adventure.

The Apostle Paul also said:
Philippians 2:12 (ESV)
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

We do not work FOR our salvation because the favour and forgiveness of God is a free gift which can never be earned.

Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

There is an old Easter Hymn which says it very well.
“There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin.
He only could unlock the gates of Heaven and let us in.”

God does not want us to accept His love and then spend our lives in fear of His anger and condemnation.

1 John 4:18 (ESV)
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

The great hymn goes on:
“Oh dearly dearly has He loved and we must love Him too,
And trust in His redeeming love and try His works to do.”

It is sad to observe how few Christians shine with the glory of God. So often we do not appreciate how great and wonderful it is to have the Spirit of God living in us. If we would appreciate hour by hour the true reality of “Christ IN you, the hope of glory,” we would really shine and reveal the glory in us.

But there is another secret which we must rediscover, although God has not hidden this truth. Rather it is religious tradition which as deceived us with the lie that we should demonstrate our humility by thinking we are insignificant or ordinary. This idea does not come from God.

You are a potential champion in the Kingdom of God. But what kind of champion are you?

In a champion soccer team, every player is not only excellent but excellent in a unique way. One is a champion goal keeper and another is a champion goal scorer. Every player is different. Until you discover the particular way God created you to excel, you have hardly begun to live.

Why should we work out our salvation
with fear and trembling?

Imagine how terrible to live an ordinary life and then arrive in Heaven (assuming you make it to heaven) and then discover the amazing adventure and achievement that God had planned for you, but you missed it!

GOD ALONE KNOWS HOW YOU ARE MADE
AND WHY YOU ARE MADE
BECAUSE HE MADE YOU.
Don't let any fear, shame, guilt or doubt
keep you from finding your dream 

and living it.

GOD KNOWS YOUR WONDERFUL DESTINY BECAUSE HE PLANNED IT.
DARE TO ASK HIM TO REVEAL IT TO YOU!

Dear Friends

We can get so involved in so many religious issues, that we can forget the basic truth. Jesus came to tell us and to show us that GOD IS LOVE. Jesus lived and died to transform us into the image of God, that we might love as God loves and live forever with our loving Heavenly God.

Here are some thoughts from the Bible to remind us of the most wonderful reality of our faith.

God bless you from Bill

Colossians 1:8 (NIV) 

and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 

What is LOVE IN THE SPIRIT?

We cannot love with the purity and intense goodness of the love of God. Adam and Eve chose to go their own way. Since then we have all had a measure of love in our human nature. The purest expression of this is the love of a good mother for her children but even this love is imperfect

John 3:16 (NIV)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God’s love is pure, intense and infinitely great. We know the love of a mother who sacrifices her life for her children but this is a pale reflection of the love of God for every human being. But if we believe and receive the life of Jesus, we have a new life. We can be filled with the goodness of God, filled with the Spirit of Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit.

1 John 3:1 (HCSB) 

Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are! ...

1 John 3:14 (NIV) 

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 

1 John 3:16 (HCSB) 

This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. 

1 John 4:8-12 (NIV) 

8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 

10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 

11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 

How does God change our faulty and often selfish nature into His own loving nature?

Romans 5:5-8 (NIV) 

5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Romans 5:5 (NIV) ...God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.       

2 Corinthians 5:21 (TLB) 

For God took the sinless Christ and poured into him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us! 

God will satisfy your hunger and thirst.

John 7:37-39 (ESV)
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus is still speaking to day. “Come to me all you who thirst and I will fill you. But why will you come with a small cup or perhaps a bottle? I will fill your cup and your bottle. If you bring a bucket, I will fill that. But have you not read the scriptures that speak of rivers? Why will you be satisfied with a cup when you can have rivers? Whatever you bring, I will fill. Why will you bring so little to Me?’

Think about large tanks. Think about trucks that deliver petrol to garages. If you take a small can to fill up with petrol, it will fill in a few seconds. If you bring a small car, it will fill in a couple of minutes. If you bring a large four wheel drive vehicle or a truck, it will take some time.If you want to expand your capacity for God and His blessings and supply, you need to spend serious time seeking and receiving the Spirit of God. How thirsty are you?

We cannot earn God's favour or His blessings. Everthing we have from God is a free gift. Everything is from God's grace. That means God's favour which can never be deserved. But it takes an act of the will to open yourself to receive from God and it takes time to receive and absorb God's blessing. God's blessing is not just something He adds to you that leaves you the same. When God blesses you deeply, His blessings change you and make you like Jesus.

John 4:13-14 (ESV)
¹³ Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus is waiting. 

We pray to God, "Save the lost! They are going to hell." Jesus says to us: "Go and find the lost and make friends for My Kingdom."

We ask God to grow our church. 

Jesus says to us: "Go out and pray for the sick, HEAL THE SICK, RAISE THE DEAD." 

We are waiting for Jesus to heal. 

Jesus says: 

Mark 16:15-18 (ESV)
^{15 ...}“Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole 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 cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;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.”

God's plan works like this. If we will do what He says, He will do what He promised. If we pray in the Holy Spirit with a sincere heart, He will build up our faith.

If we lay hands on the sick with a heart of obedience and trust in the words of Jesus, we will start to see the results that He promised.

The other day at church, someone said: "The people here are not ready for healings and miracles."

If we want people to be ready to receive what God has promised, we must boldly declare the promises of God and keep speaking and declaring and praying in faith until faith comes to us through the hearing of our words and our hearers start reaching out and receiving.