Be Merciful like Jesus

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

Being a Christian means following Jesus. In the NT, Jesus had disciples who literally walked around Israel with him. This is no longer possible, so what does it mean to follow Jesus today?

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Jn 8:31–32 NASB95

Jesus is no longer with us as a man of flesh and blood, but he has given us His word, his truth, his teaching and his promises.

You cannot be a Christian unless you seriously try to base your life on the Bible.

But how can we do this? The Bible is a big book with many confusing details. We need guidance and teaching, but the people who persecuted Jesus were the Bible experts of his day.

There are bible experts today who enslave believers with cruel hierarchy and life destroying religion. If we are protestant Christians, we must not deceive ourselves by thinking these bad religious leaders are only Jews or Roman Catholics.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, we see how Jesus applied the Bible.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14 NIV

There are Christians who aggressively preach truth to attack and shame sinners, and preachers who rule churches with fear. Jesus was full of truth, but He always approached people with grace, mercy and love.

Jesus always applied Bible truth with love and mercy, and so must we.

Yesterday, our pastor reminded us that Jesus appointed us to be the light of the world. If we live in the light of Jesus, we will ourselves shine as a light from God for others.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Mt 5:14 NIV

This is true, but we can use the light of God’s truth to bless people or condemn them. If you turn on the light in a dark place, people can see where they are going, but if you shine a laser in someone’s eyes, it can destroy his eyesight.

There are aggressive preachers and culture warriors who do just that. They attack people with Bible truth and drive people away from the love of God. We must never do this.

God's Heart Burns for You

God only wants the best for every person on earth. God created you for a good purpose, and his purpose is always good.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen 1:27 NIV

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Gen 1:31 NIV

But the first man and woman messed up God's plan by believing the enemy's lies instead of trusting God.

You and I have also messed up God's plan. We, too, have given in to temptations and believed lies. We have all gone astray.

Nevertheless, God does not love us any less.

If we are not kind and faithful, that cannot change the character of God, because…

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 Jn 4:8 NIV

God is love. He created you because He loves you. He loved you before the creation of the world.

He loved you when you were conceived and when you were born, and he still loves you.

If you were conceived unintentionally in a car or hotel room, you were still wanted by God.

And if you were raised in the worst witchcraft imaginable?

That was nothing but a challenge for God's love, because God's heart burns for you. Nothing can extinguish the fire of his love.

If you were not only abused but also led astray as a child, it was not your fault.
God loves abused children.

In the Bible, we find a man with a terrible past. We don’t know his name.
 
Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.
He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” Mk 5:5–7 NIV

He was so confused that he could not distinguish his own thoughts from the voices of the devils, and he was possessed by hundreds of demons.

But the demons could not resist the command of Jesus. When the demons were gone, he trusted Jesus with all his heart.

For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” Mk 5:8–9 NIV

Not only was the man freed from the devils, but, amazingly, he was no longer mentally ill.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Mk 5:18 NIV

Then Jesus said something quite unexpected.

Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Mk 5:19 NIV

But the man did not just talk to his family.

So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them. Mk 5:20 NLT

Jesus healed a dangerous psychotic man and set him free to evangelise his entire region.

Before this man began preaching, the people demanded that Jesus leave their area.
When Jesus came back, crowds of people came to him. Many were converted.

It may be that you have experienced rejection and bullying for years. Perhaps your life is plagued by illness or depression. Even if you are cursed with witchcraft, sexual abuse or drug addiction, you are still important and valuable in God's eyes.

God wants to give you a future and a new hope.

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

God Feels your Suffering

 Life can be a hard test.

God did not create us for rejection and disappointment, but for love and fulfilment. Nevertheless, we are rejected and disappointed so often.

Do you know what? God also suffers because we so often reject and disappoint him. Nevertheless, he also loves you and me.

But maybe we doubt whether God really has such feelings. God wanted to show us how He really is, how He loves us and how He suffers for us.

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. Jn 3:16 NIV

Jesus was with Father God eternally before creation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. Jn 1:1–3 NIV

Jesus is also God Himself and remains God forever but also man, for He came to us on earth to share in our humanity.

He came to us humans, but we all rejected and deeply hurt him.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Jn 1:10–11 NIV

Jesus was born without an earthly father because God was his Father, but his contemporaries saw him as an illegitimate child. Can you understand how the people in his village would have tormented him?

When Jesus started healing the sick and offering his love to the outcasts of society, he was accused by the religious leaders of being possessed by the devil. Jesus delivered suffering Jews from demons, but the Pharisees said that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of the devil.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.
If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? Mt 12:25–26 NIV

Do you feel misunderstood and alone? Jesus understands. He has been there too.

Jesus suffered a lot, not because He lived wrongly, but because He was good. The enemies of God hate God and everything that is good. Jesus understands your broken heart and He is on your side.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; Ps 34:18–19 NIV

Jesus does not promise His followers a life without problems, but He will help you in all your troubles.

An Atheist Finds God

Perhaps you think you cannot believe. If you want to believe, God will help you to come to faith.

A young atheist felt the emptiness in his soul. He saw a church and went in, where he observed pious worshippers.

He began to speak to God in his own way.

God, if you exist, and I don't believe you do, then I don't think it's my duty to believe in you. On the contrary, it is your duty to reveal your existence to me. If you exist, then let me find you.

In a remote village lived an old man who loved Jesus. He prayed for years that God would help him bring a Jew to faith.

One day, the young atheist, who was Jewish, was going on a journey. He looked for accommodation in the village and the old Christian welcomed him.

He gave him a Bible to read. As the young man read the Testament, he felt the love of God like fire in his heart and he believed.

The young atheist was of Jewish origin, but only when he met Jesus as his Messiah did he find the God of Israel.

Are you Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist? It doesn't matter. Jesus was born a Jew and lived on earth as a Jew, but he died on a cruel cross to suffer the punishment for our sins.

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. Jn 3:16 NIV

Sickness is not from God. Jesus is still the Healer.

 Jesus came to us on this corrupt earth to die as a sacrifice. He took the punishment for our sins upon himself.

Many say we should always passively accept cruelty and bullying, like Jesus on the cross.
Is that true?

Jesus was persecuted precisely because he was not passive and not always submissive.
God had given many laws through Moses, but the rabbis had added many more rules.

but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work … Ex 20:10 NIV

The rabbis came up with many rules that were not in the Bible to control the behaviour of Jews on the Sabbath.

For example, they were allowed to heal the sick, but not on the Sabbath.

God sent his Son to override this oppressive religiosity.

Jesus repeatedly healed suffering people on the Sabbath. He did this openly and deliberately so that everyone could see God's mercy and also to expose the injustice of the rabbinical rule.

Sometimes Jesus healed in the religious service and sometimes on the street. We must follow Jesus. We need to activate God's love and healing power in worship but also everywhere. Jesus has called all Christians in all generations to do this.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Jn 14:12 NIV

If we take Jesus at his word, we will clearly understand that this calling is open-ended and not limited to Biblical times.

Jesus was full of mercy, but he was also consistently confrontational.

Jesus always wanted to enforce God's guiding principles: Grace, truth, mercy and justice. If the religious rules got in the way of these guiding principles, Jesus declared the rules invalid.

The rabbis had invented a rule that you were not allowed to heal on the Sabbath. They had also invented a very specific rule that it was not permitted on the Sabbath to make a paste with saliva and earth to treat the eyes of a blind person.

When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Jn 9:6–7 NASB95

Jesus was familiar with the religious rule and openly defied it.

The religious leaders then persecuted the healed man and he was excommunicated.

Jesus never appeased bullying. He stood by the victim, not the cruel elders.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him. Jn 9:35–38 NIV

Unfortunately, this happens again and again in our time. When seriously ill people are healed, it is often dismissed as charismatic witchcraft.

They say that illness comes from God so that we learn to suffer with patience. When people hear about miraculous healings, many say it is demonic.

How strange! In the New Testament, sickness came from the devil and Jesus was the healer.
Today, some preachers say sickness comes from God but healing is demonic. And this is biblical truth?

Healing from God, Sickness from Satan

 Jesus came to us on this corrupt earth to die as a sacrifice. He took the punishment for our sins upon himself.

Many say we should always passively accept cruelty and bullying, like Jesus on the cross.
Is that true?

Jesus was persecuted precisely because he was not passive and not always submissive.
God had given many laws through Moses, but the rabbis had added many more rules.

but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work … Ex 20:10 NIV

The rabbis came up with many rules that were not in the Bible to control the behaviour of Jews on the Sabbath.

For example, they were allowed to heal the sick, but not on the Sabbath.

God sent his Son to override this oppressive religiosity.

Jesus repeatedly healed suffering people on the Sabbath. He did this openly and deliberately so that everyone could see God's mercy and also to expose the injustice of the rabbinical rule.

Sometimes Jesus healed in the religious service and sometimes on the street. We must follow Jesus. We need to activate God's love and healing power in worship but also everywhere. Jesus has called all Christians in all generations to do this.

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. Jn 14:12 NIV

If we take Jesus at his word, we will clearly understand that this calling is open-ended and not limited to Biblical times.

Jesus was full of mercy, but he was also consistently confrontational.

Jesus always wanted to enforce God's guiding principles: Grace, truth, mercy and justice. If the religious rules got in the way of these guiding principles, Jesus declared the rules invalid.

The rabbis had invented a rule that you were not allowed to heal on the Sabbath. They had also invented a very specific rule that it was not permitted on the Sabbath to make a paste with saliva and earth to treat the eyes of a blind person.

When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Jn 9:6–7 NASB95

Jesus was familiar with the religious rule and openly defied it.

The religious leaders then persecuted the healed man and he was excommunicated.

Jesus never appeased bullying. He stood by the victim, not the cruel elders.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped him. Jn 9:35–38 NIV

Unfortunately, this happens again and again in our time. When seriously ill people are healed, it is often dismissed as charismatic witchcraft.

They say that illness comes from God so that we learn to suffer with patience. When people hear about miraculous healings, many say it is demonic.

How strange! In the New Testament, sickness came from the devil and Jesus was the healer.
Today, some preachers say sickness comes from God but healing is demonic. And this is biblical truth?

Christian Empathy or Cruel Judgement

There are Christians who have been horribly abused. There are women who attempt suicide because of domestic violence and cruel domination or who need weeks of care in a psychiatric clinic.

There are boys and girls who flee their family home because of abuse. Then they are often just as badly abused on the street, or sometimes worse.

I once spoke to a young man who was begging on the street in winter. I asked him where he sleeps. He said he sometimes spends the night with some client.

Many Christians try to help these people, but without God's love and wisdom our attempts are often in vain.

Tormented women are often told by pastors or counsellors that they must simply forgive. Of course we must forgive. Jesus taught that, but just forgive? Simply?

Does that mean she must stay with the husband who rapes and brutally beats her?

Jesus often spoke of forgiveness, but also of justice, compassion and practical help.
Harshly controlling women are often told to stay with their cruel tormentors because of wedding vows, even if the violence is against her small children!

For some abused women, Bible-based religion is like a torture chamber. They do not experience the love of God, but the Spanish Inquisition.

There are women who find prostitution more bearable than the captivity and slavery of a brutal marriage.

Some Christians refer to the strong teaching of Jesus against divorce. Jesus was addressing the brutal oppression of women, because rabbis allowed men to divorce their wives for any reason or no reason.

Jesus also said that the law of God should not be implemented to destroy people.

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mk 2:27 NIV

We could also say: Marriage was made for the good of man (and woman)  and not man (and woman) for marriage.

He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?

In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Mk 2:25–26 NIV

The priest in the Old Testament defied God's law concerning holy bread, so he could help extremely hungry people, and Jesus judged the priest's actions as righteous.

Some Christians are harshly judgemental, as the pharisees were in the Bible, but there are also many Christians who are wonderfully compassionate, as Jesus was in the Gospels.

I know Christian women who visit brothels who share the love of God with genuine kindness. Teen Challenge is an international ministry that restores drug addicts with Christian love.

Many Christians provide practical help to homeless people who are often struggling to survive on the streets due to abuse or mental illness. I thank God for this help. I am personally acquainted with Christian women who used to be homeless.

I am convinced that our attitude towards broken marriages, runaway children, drug abuse and prostitution should not be one of moral condemnation, but of empathy and compassion.

God Wants to Comfort You

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Mt 5:4 NRSV

Who can expect comfort from God?

According to some commentaries, this only applies to people who are sorry for their sins and want to repent, or to Christians who mourn in a close relationship with Jesus because of the sins in the world.

It is undoubtedly true that God forgives and comforts us when we hate our sins and want to repent.

It is also true that Jesus weeps over the sins of the world. When we weep in close communion with him, we experience the comfort of his tender love.

But can we only expect God's comfort when we mourn over sin?

When your child or sister dies, are you happy? No. You are devastated. This has nothing to do with sin, but God is love. He loves you deeply and wants to comfort you.

If your beloved dog dies, do you think your grief is not important to God?

I appreciate good Bible commentaries. I've been an avid student of the Bible for years.

But beware of pious sermons that focus on sin with a narrow religious view.

This religious mindset all too often leads to a critical attitude when dealing with neighbours and colleagues.

With a narrow focus on virtue and sin, one can become unconsciously judgemental, like the Pharisees in the Bible.

This way of thinking also often leads to unloving religiosity in congregations and painful guilt complexes in Christians who want to be holy.

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, he began to speak first to his disciples, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Lk 12:1 NRSV

He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NRSV

Whatever your reason for suffering, Jesus wants to comfort you. If you choose to believe in His love and trust Him, you will experience His comforting love.

Am I saying that your sin is not an issue for Jesus?

God forbid! Jesus died to take the punishment for our sin. Jesus feels your pain; He loves you unconditionally just as you are, but He not only wants to forgive your sins completely, He also wants to remove them.

He wants to help you live a whole new life and enjoy His loving friendship.

God Promises and does not Lie

 The devil twists God's words to destroy your trust in God.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Gen 3:1 NIV

If you are seriously ill, you should read this.

When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. Mt 8:16 NIV

Then you hear someone say that these healings were only meant for that time, or that such stories of demons are just pious legends because people 2000 years ago didn't understand anything about psychiatry.

Then you look at the Psalms:

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. Ps 103:3 NLT

The same God who promises to forgive all your sins, also promises in the same verse to heal all your diseases. Your eternal life depends on the forgiveness of God. Your healing depends on the same faithful promise of the same loving God.

Then you see many Christians who have been sick for a long time. You start to think that God wants you to suffer so that you can be sanctified. It's all rubbish, but the devil knows his trade.

Jesus said:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Jn 10:10 NIV

God loves you. When he promises forgiveness and healing, he does not lie.

Jesus Heals Damaged People

Your thoughts change your brain. Are you psychologically damaged? Where can you find help? Jesus was and still is the healer, therapist and guide.

Our experiences shape our thoughts. Traumatised concentration camp survivors are permanently changed people. A wife and mother can never think like a virgin again. She can't.

Your experiences and thoughts also change the biology and architecture of your brain.
Scientists have dissected the brains of deceased people.

Bilingual people had more complex neuronal structures.

Learning changes the brain, either positively or negatively. That's why sexual abuse and pornography addiction are very dangerous.

Torture and brainwashing can permanently change the victim's way of thinking and also damage their brain.

Corrupting and cruel experiences can wreak havoc on your mind and brain, but there is an almighty good God who can restore your soul and brain.

Mary Magdalene was a holy woman. God chose her to be the first witness of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

We also read that she had a traumatic and perhaps shameful past.

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. Mk 16:9 NIV

We don't know how Mary was demonised. Was she psychotic? Was she a witch? Was she a prostitute? Was she sexually abused? We do not know.

No matter how she was corrupted, her mind was mentally poisoned. Her brain was not functioning properly. She needed forgiveness and cleansing, but also healing.

Through God's word, we can learn to think very differently.

The Bible is pure and holy. God's word is the heavenly light. Light casts out darkness.

God's word is also a holy water bath that cleanses our defiled souls.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, Eph 5:25–26 NIV

When God's Holy Spirit has cleansed your soul, God wants to help you to think in a completely new way, so that your world of thoughts becomes better every day.

The devil does not give up. He keeps trying to lead you astray with evil thoughts, but when you have given your life to Jesus, God wants to encourage you with good and beautiful thoughts.

Porn Star Escapes

 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?

And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. Mt 18:12–13 NIV

Shelley Lubben loved Jesus when she was a little girl. She wanted to be a preacher. At the age of nine she was sexually abused. She was sexualised and became sexually active as a teenager. At 18, her life was out of control and her parents rejected her.

She was poor and hungry. Then a man offered her money for sex and she became a prostitute.

She became pregnant and gave birth to a child with a client. She kept the baby but continued to work as a prostitute.

However, God did not abandon her. She still believed in God, but she did not trust Jesus because she was rejected by her parents and everyone else. She also felt that God had abandoned her.

Then she was afraid of rape, murder and prison. She looked for a way out as a porn actress because it seemed less dangerous.

Then she felt the diabolical darkness like never before, much worse than in prostitution.
She had a brilliant success as a porn star, but the eerie demonic presence was terrible to her.

Then Jesus Himself came to her again and again. He pleaded with her lovingly:
Please, Shelley, don't do it again this time.

She eventually left the porn industry, but she was deeply hurt and tainted.

She then found a friend who had also turned away from Jesus. He became a brotherly friend, but then they returned to Jesus together and she married him.

Christian Activism

 As a little girl, she firmly believed in Jesus and prayed to God with childlike trust. But then she was sexually abused. As a teenager, she was confused and sought solace in marijuana and boys.

I am thinking of stories of more than one or two women who ended up in a brothel, a clinic or on the street.

I am thinking of a young man who was begging on the street in a German city in winter. He lived from donations and told me that he sometimes spent the night with a client.

I know women in Germany who visited brothels to help prostitutes with friendliness. In one year, they found four victims of human trafficking and helped them to return home.

In one Australian state, the government reported that 15-20% of all mentally ill patients committed suicide within 24 hours of being discharged. After that, no more statistics were published. The scandal was simply hushed up.

Yesterday a Christian political activist rang me. He told me to contact the government and demand that we have religious freedom.

I was not at all impressed and told him in very clear terms what I was thinking

Why do these activists protest against abortion, gender mainstreaming etc. but ignore domestic violence, homelessness and the neglect of the mentally ill and victims of abuse?

I told the Christian on the phone that his organisation should be lobbying governments to provide adequate poverty relief and mental health services. He said he had been a homeless drug addict until someone told him about Jesus, and he was born again. He said we just needed more evangelism.

I answered rather angrily that I minister to Christians who are mentally ill or suicidal because of abuse in Christian families and churches.

I know a Christian woman who needed therapy in a psychiatric clinic. In the clinic, she met Christians she had known in Church.

Of course, freedom of speech is important. I am not in favour of gay marriage or gender mainstreaming, but if we focus on a few moral issues and fail to care for broken people, we are misrepresenting Jesus.

A conservative Christian politician in Australia loudly opposed abortion and post-modern gender policies. He said it is better to have a fence and a warning sign at the top of a cliff than an ambulance at the bottom.

But warning signs will not stop people jumping or falling. It is good to promote Biblical principles for personal morality, but we still need ambulances and rehab services.
 
Jesus sharply rebuked the Pharisees for imposing a narrow religious mindset on others, but they didn't care about poor, sick and suffering people.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving kindness and truth go before You. Ps 89:14 NASB95

For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Gal 5:14 NRSV

All Christians are Called

 No one who sought healing from Jesus was disappointed. No one who sought forgiveness was rejected.

The suffering of the sick aroused such compassion in Jesus that his stomach turned. Jesus healed, not just to confirm his identity as Saviour, but because he was spontaneously moved by love.

But Jesus was not satisfied with this. He knew that he was short of time, that he had to die on the cross. He had to train and equip his disciples.

Jesus was never satisfied with average religious results. He knew that all people, Jews and non-Jews, would suffer in hell without repentance and forgiveness.

… he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim 2:4 NET

Jesus knew that many would not believe and that countless people would never believe, but he wanted to save as many people as possible.

In Luke 9, he sent 12 disciples as evangelists.

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Lk 9:1–2 NIV

Jesus then sent 70 disciples with the same mission.

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.

And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest. Lk 10:1–2 NASB95

Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ Lk 10:9 NIV

Jesus wanted to heal all the sick. Why? Out of deep compassion. He loves all people.

But Jesus saw far into the future. He knew that a gospel without many miraculous healings would save some, but when people are healed en masse, many more will come to faith.

We see this today in Africa, in Islamic countries, in South America and in Asia, where millions of Muslims, atheists, Hindus and witches convert to Jesus every year.

When Jesus sent the seventy disciples, he commanded them not only to proselytise, but to ask God to raise up more missionaries.

He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Lk 10:2 NIV

Twelve is good. Seventy is better. But there are countless people who need God's salvation.
God has raised up prominent preachers. I thank God for Billy Graham, Reinhard Bonnke and others. But there are billions of lost people in the world.

You and I are also called to proclaim God's kingdom with power.

Different Ways to Reach People

We are often like a tram travelling on the same tracks.

Jesus was different.

Sometimes he communicated with parables, but sometimes with harsh rebukes.
He often led people to faith by healing their illnesses. Only after they were healed did they come to faith.

When he healed the sick, he didn't just have one method.

A leper asked for healing.

Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Mk 1:41 NASB95

He healed a blind man in a very unusual way.

Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” Mk 8:23 NASB95

A royal official begged Jesus to come to his home and heal his son.

“Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed.
While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. Jn 4:50–51 NIV

We also read how Jesus sometimes gave an instruction or command.

But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralysed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.”

Then the man got up and went home. Mt 9:6–7 NIV

God understands us. He created you and me.

God has very different ways of helping different people, healing us and awakening faith in us.

Some find God by studying the Bible. Others by receiving a miraculous healing in a meeting.

Many Muslims come through miraculous healings, and many others see Jesus in a dream.

How did you find your way to Jesus? There are so many different answers to this question.

Concentrate on God and Expect His Help

What is dominating your thinking? Your illness or God's healing?
Where do you direct your thoughts? Your fears, or God's saving love?

A scientist in the USA studied HIV AIDS patients for four years.
Patients who believed in God's love recovered significantly better.
Patients who believed that God loved them personally recovered much better.

When you are in distress, you will experience a battle in your mind.
On one side is faith, hope and the love of God.
On the other side, fears and doubts keep popping up.

That is normal.

But God has given you free will. Where will you focus your attention?

We can fail or overcome in all areas of life. Life is just like that.

A sports psychologist was invited to help professional footballers. He wanted to teach and strongly emphasise the principle of concentration. In football, as in all areas of life, concentration is essential for success. Distraction is the enemy.

The psychologist placed a large football trophy on a table in front of the team. He said they had to keep their eyes on the cup for seven minutes.

They started looking at the trophy and the psychologist reminded them not to give in to distractions, not to look at their friends, not to look at the laptop on the table, etc.

The only professional footballer who looked at the trophy for seven minutes straight was the superstar of the team.

The other footballers glanced here and there, at their friends, at the laptop, etc.

What did the football champion do differently from his team-mates?

He looked at the inscription on the trophy. He read the inscription over and over again and systematically stored the words in his memory.

Do you need healing from cancer or depression? Perhaps liberation from porn?
Where do you direct your gaze on the screen of your mind?

When Joshua was to lead the Hebrews into the Promised Land, he received these instructions from God.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Jos 1:8 NIV

And what did Joshua say to the Hebrews?

“Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you after he said, ‘The LORD your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ Jos 1:13 NIV

Your thoughts determine the direction of your life.

How can you control your thoughts?

You must realise that your thoughts and feelings do not control you. You can direct and control your thoughts.

God's promises and instructions are like the inscription on the victory trophy that God has set before you.

What is your victory trophy? Healing? Deliverance? Reconciliation with friends or family? A good job?

You can be like the football striker who focuses only on the goal and doesn't get distracted.

He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases. Ps 103:3 CSB

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

That's all well and good, but you and I are just weak people.

But we don't just have God's word. If Jesus is the most important person in your life, you can rely on his help. He will never let you down.

… And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mt 28:20 NRSV

Remember, think about it. He is with you all the time.

Overcoming Bad Thoughts and Feelings

 You try to focus your thoughts on God, to pray with reverence and love, but you are constantly distracted by negative thoughts. You want to love God, but in your own eyes you are a failure.

You force yourself to praise God, to read the Bible more, perhaps to fast, but it often doesn't help.

What is wrong? What is holding you back?

• Financial worries?

• Unworthy sexual thoughts?

• Anger at difficult neighbours or relatives?

• Ashamed of your many shortcomings and misdemeanours?

• Anger about abuse?

Perhaps you're building on the wrong foundation.

You are not saved because your repentance and reverence are deep.

The foundation of your salvation is your redemption through the death of God's Son on the cross for you.
God redeemed you from sin and shame through the sacrifice of His Son.

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.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jn 3:16–17 NIV

When we feel shaky, we need to look to our foundation, God's saving love.

Because Jesus died for you, you can come to Jesus as a broken person who needs understanding, like a troubled soul sharing your feelings with a good therapist who is not judging you.

You can tell God how you feel and ask him to help you to untie the knots in your life.

‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Jer 33:3 NIV

Jesus, our Compassionate Friend

 I know some Christian women who regularly visit brothels, not to preach, but to offer friendship and help to the prostitutes. They have rescued some from human trafficking and others have come to faith in Jesus.

Some Christians disapprove of visiting sinful places, but Jesus himself mixed with the outcasts of society

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’;

the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” Mt 11:18–19 NRSV

Some Christians look at the lives of unbelievers, and focus on their sins. Jesus wanted to save sinners from their sins, but he did not just look upon them as sinners, but as people who were struggling with the challenges and disappointments of life.

Jesus really was a friend to sinners. What does true friendship mean? A true friend empathises and tries to understand how you feel.

When Jesus saw severely sick people, he was moved with compassion and healed them.

But he did not only feel compassion for physical suffering, but also the mental and emotional suffering of people living in darkness.

Life is full of struggles and disappointments, for Christians as well as unbelievers. If you put your trust in Jesus, you have eternal life, but that does not make you immune to grief and heartache.

Jesus himself knew what sorrow and grief meant.

He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. Is 53:3–4 NRSV

This translation correctly shows how Jesus, as our healer, bore our physical pains and sicknesses on the cross.

Some other translations emphasise the mental grief and sorrow, that Jesus endured, and how he identified himself with our emotional struggles.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. Is 53:4 NKJV

God looks at your sins, and he wants to forgive you, but he does not just look upon you as a judge, but as one who loves you and identifies with your emotional struggles.

After Jesus returned to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to be our comforter. The Holy Spirit in NT Greek is the PARAKLETOS. One who is called alongside.

God is closer than breathing. He feels your heartaches, and he wants to touch you with his compassionate love.

Jesus Heals because He Cares

Why did Jesus heal every person who asked for healing? Jesus healed out of deep compassion.

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. Mt 14:14 NKJV

How should we understand Jesus' deep compassion? In the original Greek text, the word is ``splagchnisthḗsomai‘’.

What does that mean?

The suffering of the sick aroused such compassion in Jesus that his stomach turned.

Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him. Mt 20:34 NASB95

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. Mk 1:40–42 NKJV

God is love. Jesus came as the Son of God to reveal God's character.

God never changes.

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. Ac 10:38 NLT

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Heb 13:8 NLT

If you or someone you love is tormented with sickness, Jesus is moved with deep compassion.

Don't be misled by cold theological theories.

Jesus wants to heal you.

God Understands

 Who understands the deep wounds in your soul? Only God.

Every heart has its own bitterness, and no one else can fully share its joy. Prov 14:10

Who understands the difficult path from your failure to the fulfilment of your destiny? Only God.

There is an old English hymn.

‘’What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.‘’
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer

Sometimes good counsellors or therapists can help, but only God fully understands all your deepest troubles.

But when we teeter helplessly on the edge of despair, we can be tempted to cling to the comfort and security of people as if human help can save us.

A pastor or counsellor with simple answers to all your problems can limit your potential. Canned food can never provide the same nourishment that comes from fresh food.

A well-known preacher illustrated this problem with this joke.

A Christian asked his pastor a difficult theological question.
The pastor gave an impressive answer and justified his teaching with a Bible text.
Father God in heaven listened in amazement.

‘’Jesus. Did you hear what that pastor just said? I would never have thought of it. Did you tell him?‘’

We don't get by in life by having simple answers for every question.
The crucial question is whether you have a living relationship with Jesus, because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

We are not saved because we are right in all theological questions.
It is not theology that saves us, but the Saviour.
There are secrets hidden in your soul, secrets that only you are familiar with.

There are some counsellors and therapists with whom you can uncover such secrets, and they will care for you with understanding and respect, but there are also counsellors who claim to know everything and to be right about everything. It is better to avoid such counsellors.

There are so many mysteries and secrets in my own life that I only partially understand. Even the best counsellors don't understand half of it, but I have learned to trust God more and more as my guide in my ignorance.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Ps 23:1–4 NKJV

Do you understand why God loves you? Maybe a little, or maybe not at all.

But if you can learn little by little to believe in God's care and guidance, and to hold on to His love, then Jesus will be your protection and shield.

God understands the secrets in your heart that you don't understand yourself. When you surrender your life into the hands of God, He will mould your life so that you can experience deep healing.

He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. Ps 147:3 NKJV

But please be patient. This healing can take some time.

Moses had to suffer as a refugee in the desert for 40 years before God called him to enter His service.

Abraham and Sarah were already very old when their promised son was born.

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. Jas 5:7 NIV

We Need the Holy Spirit

I was listening to classical music on the radio this morning. I love this music and the presenter was excellent. 

This presenter was born female, but is a now a man married to a woman. He had surgery and has ongoing male hormone therapy.

When I first heard this presenter, she was a woman, and I later learned, a lesbian. 

When I heard his voice on the radio this morning, my reaction was to pray earnestly for him, for blessing, mercy and salvation.

In the past, I have sometimes enjoyed her (or more recently his) musical commentary and sometimes felt uncomfortable about his or her gender identity, but I did not pray earnestly.
How should we respond to people like this?

Many Christians respond as moral crusaders or culture warriors, but I doubt if this is effective. 

Jesus said: I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14.6

But in John’s gospel, we read that Jesus is full of grace and truth.

From his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace.

The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  Jn 1:16–17 NRSV

Jesus is the embodiment of truth, but grace comes before truth. Jesus also died for homosexuals and transsexual people.

If I was a pastor and I had to minister to a person like this, how would I respond? I have no idea.

If you think the bible gives you precise instructions about this, I think you need to think again. 

I think we need to prayerfully seek guidance in each situation. Traditional bible based evangelical thinking is just not fit for purpose in these confusing times.

Supposing a Muslim man with two or three wives is converted to faith in Jesus Christ. How would you counsel him and his wives?

We need the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit on how to apply biblical principles.

We also often need to step back, pray, and let the Holy Spirit deal directly with the person we are trying to reach. Only God himself is able to deal with situations like these.