God Loves You. Resist Negative Thoughts

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Jn 10:10 NKJV

Many negative and discouraging thoughts that torment us come from the enemy, known in the Bible as the devil.

• Your sickness must come from God.

• God no longer heals as in the Bible.

• Only some are chosen by God for salvation.

• If you are chosen for eternal life, you should be thankful, but you may also be chosen for the suffering of sickness and not for the grace of healing.

But God is very different. He sent his eternal Son Jesus into the world to do us good, not to torment us.

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 NLT

In the New Testament, Jesus fulfilled what God had clearly said in the Old Testament.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11 NKJV

Our thoughts can be darkened by trials, but God understands our weak and flawed nature. Throughout the Bible you can read that God loves you and wants to bless you, not afflict you.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Jas 1:16–17 NIV

God loves you dearly and tenderly. He wants to help you and bless you. You do not have to be afraid of God.

DON'T LIMIT GOD. HIS BEST IS FOR YOU

Psalm 103:2-4 (NIV) A Psalm of DAVID

• Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
• who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 
• who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 

Here David is encouraging himself my meditating on the promises of God for himself. We all need to do this when we are down or in need. 

• If you tell me you are never down or you don’t have any unmet needs I don’t believe you.

Clearly David believes God’s promises are comprehensive. 

• He is saved from the pit of despair and damnation. 

• God forgives all his sins and also heals all his diseases. 

ALL is a bold word. 

• If you believe for ALL these things, you have a very bold faith, and rather controversial because many people want to believe for forgiven sins but not too much more.

You might say David was a specially chosen prophet and king, a special favourite of God. Maybe he is just talking about his own special privileges with God.

• So is David just talking about himself and a few specially chosen ones?

The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. Psalm 103:6 (NIV) 

Here is this word ALL again but this time it is not only ALL sins forgiven and ALL diseases healed but God’s miraculous power and favour available to ALL who need help.

Who is included in God’s favour?

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: Psalm 103:7 (NIV) 

In the Old Testament, God worked mighty miracles for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and many other heroes of faith but God also forgave, healed, protected and saved ALL the people of Israel when they escaped from Egypt and crossed the Red Sea.

He also brought them out with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes. Psalm 105:37 (NKJV) 

But is God’s mercy and power only for the sons and daughters of Jacob, the people of Israel. David gives the rest of us words of hope.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; Psalm 103:11 (NKJV)

A Syrian general was suffering from incurable leprosy. He had a captured Hebrew slave girl who told her about the prophet Elisha in Israel. When General Naaman found Elisha, the prophet sent him a message.

Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." 2 Kings 5:10 (NIV) 

The general was angry but he reconsidered and did what he was told. When he came up out of the dirty river for the seventh time, he was healed. 

God wants to forgive all your sins and heal all your diseases but are you willing to honour God with your simple trust and humble obedience?

If you respect and trust God, if you revere and love Jesus, God’s promises are also for you.

But there are always some people who want to believe in a theology that limits God. God healed the Jews and some other people in the Old Testament but what about today?

Matthew 8:16-17 (ESV) 

• That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 
• This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” 

When did Jesus take our illnesses and bear our diseases? On the cross. 

This is a quote from Isaiah 53, which is a prophecy of Jesus suffering on the cross for our salvation.

Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains--he hath carried them, And we--we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4 (YLT)

Here Young’s Literal Translation accurately translates Isaiah and agrees with the Greek translation in Matthew 8:17.

Jesus died to pay the price for your complete salvation, to take away your sin, guilt and condemnation and also to deliver you from the consequences of sin, which include sickness.

REFRESHMENT FOR ALL

People today are desperately in need of refreshment. The world is old, stale and polluted in all kinds of ways.
•    Office workers and professionals are bullied and burdened with regulations, red tape and paperwork.
•    Business people and tradesmen are increasingly insecure as economic systems crack and crumble.
•    Post Christian sexual freedom has left many women as struggling single mothers and so many men heartbroken and separated from their children.

• People are stressed, overworked, insecure, bullied, betrayed, exploited and dehumanised.

• People are guilty, frustrated, angry and wounded.

• People are lonely and despairing.

• People are hungry for refreshment and relief.

• People turn to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain.

• People go to nightclubs, bars and rock concerts to find refreshment.

• People go from bed to bed to escape from loneliness and frustration, for refreshment.

God made us to be refreshed. He created these deep needs in us that only HE can satisfy.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
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 7:37-39 (NKJV)

If we belong to a Christian church, we believe we are connected to Jesus, who is the source of eternal refreshment.
Yet so many Christians are addicted to the same cravings as other people, desperately seeking refreshment in internet pornography, sleazy movies and TV shows, rock music that glorifies anger, despair, suicide and lust.The addiction to destructive refreshment is an epidemic inside and outside the Christian church.

We think that excellent churches have the answer but striving for excellence may not solve the problem.
People who are stressed out at work often go to church seeking refreshment but are disappointed. 
They leave a dogmatic and authoritarian boss at work and they find controlling leaders at church. 

In the demanding modern workplace, workers must perform or perish. Then they go to church where excellent performance is constantly demanded. Just as in the workplace, excellent performers rule in church. 

No wonder so many committed church people are trapped by internet pornography. Even sincere church leaders are starving for the refreshment that Jesus promises.

 
But isn’t performance important in the Christian life?
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NKJV) 

 
A Christian is like an athlete who loves Jesus and gives himself to the cause of God like an Olympic athlete. Olympic sport requires enormous effort and self-discipline but also a great deal of encouragement, rest and high quality refreshment. 

Christian meetings are intended to be places of encouragement and refreshment for all. If excellent worship, music and preaching become performances, as they often do, no wonder so many Christians leave church and so many preachers burn out or are trapped by counterfeit refreshment.

 
I believe God is redesigning and rearranging His church. Many people are leaving over organised, over controlled churches and meeting to drink deep from the River of Life as they bathe in the River of God. 

Many are tired of regimented worship and they meet to share informal fellowship and to find real relationships with each other and with God. Many deeply committed Christians find more freedom to share their real thoughts on Facebook than they do at church.

 
If you are thirsty for God and tired of having your life controlled and organised, why not ask GOD what HE wants to do in YOUR life?