The Thanksgiving-Christmas Healing Race

I lay in bed last night, soaking and listening, unable to sleep.  Suddenly I heard a challenge:  to engage in a “Thanksgiving-Christmas Healing Race”, and to invite other people to join me.  Here’s what it’s all about.

It started on Sunday as I sat with my four crazy friends at the dinner table.  God is nudging us all into new exploits in healing, but none of us were sure how to begin.  Then, last night, I saw what to do.

Part One – it’s about 30 days from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  That’s the duration of each round in this race.

But even if I have to start late, thanksgiving is how the race begins.  Step One is to collect testimonies of healing that have happened in our lives so far, and thank God for them.  The principle here is, “To him who has will more be given.”  If we already have a few testimonies, God will give us more.

The other endpoint of each round is Christmas, the day when Jesus was born into this world.  Our goal with each round is that we have a fuller presence of Christ the Healer in our lives.  But between the endpoints are about 30 days.  And the goal is to lay hands on somebody and reach for a miracle of healing on every one of them.  Even with sporadic results, we should have at least a few testimonies by Christmas, and be ready to start another round of Thanksgiving again, and another 30 days of reaching for more.

The purpose of the race.  The purpose is to see more of Christ born into our lives — in this case, Christ the Healer.  As we hunger for more of Him, He is sure to build our faith as we let Him lead us into ministry encounters.  And testimonies are sure to accumulate, and then momentum can build.

Two ways to race.  I’ll gladly do it by myself.  It calls for me to reach for healing miracles about once a day.  If I fall behind, I can double up and minister to several people in a day.  And it probably wouldn’t matter if I finished a few days late.  Or a group of four crazy friends could run the race together.  Together, we could easily minister to 30 people in 30 days.  If anybody developed a testimony, we all could say, “Look what God has done for us.  Then, having something, we could expect God to give us more.

Why a group helps.  Sometimes as was one of us reaches out for God’s healing power, we wonder, “What if nothing happens?”  The whole onus is on each of us as individuals.  But, as part of a group, we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.

So I’m inviting my four crazy friends, and other friends in other nations to join me in the race.  Then we’ll all be able to say, “I’m involved in an international prayer experiment…”

Call it a prayer experiment.  That way, we don’t have to try to convince others that we have great healing ministries.  Instead, we can introduce them to Christ the Healer.  And as joint-owners of the testimonies, we can strengthen one another to receive more from God.  So if you’re nervous about what to do if you minister to people and nothing happens, this gives you a covering.  “I’m involved in an international prayer experiment,” you can say.  Then you don’t have to worry that you’re promising something you can’t deliver.  Then you can forget about yourself, and lovingly reach for Jesus.  And that’s when faith works:  when we get our attention off ourselves – my faith, my gifts, my anointing, my, my!  But when we see Jesus and His love, His presence makes healing easy.  And if you’re in another nation and want to run the race with us where God has put you, let us know.  Then we’ll be able to say it honestly:  “We’re involved in an international prayer experiment.”

Your Invitation.  I’m going to do this, whether anyone joins me or not.  I’ll start on Thanksgiving, which is November 24.  But I’m determined to keep it persona and relational.  It isn’t meant to be an annual event with a lot of hype and publicity.  It’s simply a way for a few friends to stretch our gift mix, and to take our first faltering steps into power evangelism.  Step-by-step, the Holy Spirit will show us how to stretch beyond ourselves.

And how do we reach for miracle testimonies?  I’ll have to answer that with more articles.  From what I’ve seen of miracles and healings in the past, the mysteries and paradoxes make it a wonderful adventure.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2011, GospelSmith  ::  http://www.GospelSmith.com

Stay In Your Sphere

As we spend time with God and start to hear from Him, we face a new temptation:  to presume that because we are hearing from God, we are supposed to speak in God’s behalf to tell people what to do.

The Bible teaches something different.  For the most part, God is speaking to you about your sphere of responsibility, not everyone else’s. This is a limited sphere of activity.  Beyond that, He will give you a sphere of influence, an area in which you have no right to tell people what to do but you do have the right to offer polite suggestions that they may either accept or reject.

Paul talks about his sphere of ministry in II Corinthians 10:13-15.  His words will help us all stay in bounds:

We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us – a sphere which especially includes you.  For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, in other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere, to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.

Paul uses several interesting phrases here.  He speaks of the “limits of the sphere which God has appointed us.”  He recognizes “other men’s labors.”  He is careful “not to boast in another man’s sphere if accomplishment.”

One fundamental principle forms the basis for everything Paul said about staying in his sphere:  He recognized that God had called others and given them a responsibility, and he therefore counted himself responsible not to undermine their God-given work.

We must be careful to respect the ministries and inheritances God has given to others.  There is plenty of work to do in the gospel without encroaching on anyone else’s God-given territory.

I Kings 21 tells the story of King Ahab and his desire to buy Naboth’s vineyard.  Naboth was unwilling to sell; he said, “It is my inheritance.”  Ahab’s wife Jezebel schemed to have Naboth put to death on false charges, and then Ahab was able to possess the vineyard.  The prophet Elijah arrived on the scene with a word that God would bring judgment.

What was the problem?  Ahab did not respect Naboth’s God-given inheritance.  Ahab did not stay in his sphere; he encroached in Naboth’s.

Be careful to respect the inheritance of others.  God has not sent you to possess what He has given to others; He has sent you to possess and to cultivate what He has given you.

What has He given you?  Start with your family responsibilities, then your responsibilities at work and school, and then include the doors that have been opened to you in ministry.  Here is the important point:  when God speaks to any of us, He is talking to us about the sphere of responsibility He has given us.

Unless you have been raised up in the office of a prophet and have been received as such by the church at large, there is no reason to expect God will give you directive words for people’s lives or for the church.

Otherwise we begin to act like Ahab.  We respect what God has given us and expect everyone else to expect it as well, but we fail to guard and protect the inheritance of others.  Don’t make Ahab’s mistake.  Be like Paul; stay in your sphere.  You won’t run out of work to do.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2009, GospelSmith  ::  http://www.GospelSmith.com

Serve The Church

Look for opportunities to serve within your church.  And look for opportunities to take their ministry outside.

The assignment in the online school of the Spirit requires three simple things:  soak 10-15 times each month; edify, exhort, or comfort 20 people a month; and write it down.  Soaking and writing can happen at home, but where can we find our 20 people to minister to each month?

One answer is the church.  I’m using a list of ministry ingredients found in Acts 2:42-47. I have to be brief, but there are a lot of ministry opportunities here.

1. They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship. This is ministry by the leaders to the church, but we can encourage them and share testimonies of how their ministries have strengthened our lives.

2. In the breaking of bread, we can use mealtimes as an opportunity to edify, exhort, or comfort those we eat with.  Jesus often ministered at the table.

3. In prayers and in our soaking times we can receive our marching orders from God.  In prayer meetings we will sometimes find opportunities for personal ministry.

4. The fear of God is an atmosphere of God’s presence that brings conviction.  Go there in your own devotional life, and you will find that sometimes God will bring this same atmosphere when you are with church friends.  Acknowledge His presence and turn to Him with prayer, thanksgiving, or worship.

5. Wonders and signs were given to the apostles in Acts 2, but God is giving them to the civilians in the church today.  Reach for gifts you haven’t had before.  Expect God to use you in new ways.

6. All who believed were together, which means they made a point of spending time together.  Go out of your way to connect with other church people between meetings.  Ministry opportunities then will happen automatically.

7. They had all things in common, but later in Acts this trait became a ministry of giving.  Look for things you can give to people.

8. They sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.  Let God lead you in your giving, but many have found profound ministry opportunities in servant evangelism as they give to the needy.

9. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were in two kinds of meetings:  large meetings that focused on preaching or teaching, and small meetings that allowed a lot of interaction.  We have already looked at the ministry opportunities in each.

10. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. Many of these people had at least seen Jesus, and some had followed Him.  They knew His ministry style was joyful, simple, and down-to-earth.  This is why they found ministry opportunities even in their meals.

11. Praising God likewise happened in large meetings and in small.  Have a praise party or a soaking party at home, then follow through with a time of personal ministry.  Or take time to praise God without music – by thanking Him very specifically for what He is doing.

12. Having favor with all the people, they conducted themselves with sensitivity. It’s not that they were afraid to offend; instead, they presented truth lovingly.  As you reach out to people, expect to grow in favor with God and man.

13. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. They didn’t just minister within the church; they also ministered to people outside.  Go back through this list and see what you can adapt to find ministry opportunities with people who aren’t in the church.

Stan Smith   ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  http://www.GospelSmith.com

Develop A Group Testimony

Develop a testimony as a group.  This will encourage everyone else’s faith.

1.  I was part of a team of five in India. Our host, Pastor Philip, was an Indian man with more than a hundred churches under his care.  He had arranged the open-air meetings.

Each night, we took turns preaching, testifying, leading altar calls, and then ministering to the sick.  Philip almost always found a way to include each of us in the evening’s activities.  And each of us formed a prayer line as the thousands of Indians streamed forward, each wanting us to lay hands on them for healing.

There wasn’t time to interview each person – “What do you need from the Lord?  How long have you had this condition?” – nor was there time to see if God was healing them immediately – “Is your pain gone?  Do what you couldn’t do before…”  We simply had to shout our prayers over the din of the music and hope for the best.

I can’t prove it, but I suspected that many people went through all five prayer lines every night.  If one prayer was good, wouldn’t five be better?

Then during the day, Pastor Philip brought the reports:  “A fifteen-year Hindu girl with cancer in her ear, healed … a deaf mute, healed … a woman with cancer in her stomach, healed.”  But we weren’t quite satisfied.  Whose prayers had been answered?  It was impossible to know.

2.  My wife and I got involved with the Healing Rooms in Santa Maria, CA. The directors, Rick and Lori Taylor, emphasized, “It isn’t about us and our faith.  We believe in divine healing.  Show the love of God and get in His presence, and healing will happen automatically.”

It really wasn’t about us.  The first time JoAnn received an instantaneous healing, it happened so fast that she thought she was hurting the woman.  It took her a few minutes to digest the fact that God had healed a long-term problem, with eighteen surgeries and constant back pain for the last eight years, in a second.

But Rick and Lori never told who was in the prayer room when the healing happened.  Instead, they would testify, “We had a woman come in who had had eighteen surgeries and constant pain in the last eight years – instantly healed.”

They never focused on who God used.  We were a team, and it really wasn’t about us – it was about Him and His love.

The result?  One person’s testimony became everyone’s testimony.  As God used one person and then another, soon we all got to see God heal people instantly.  But the only name we ever pointed to was the name of Jesus.

Looking back, I think this is what Pastor Philip wanted to accomplish with his team of five Americans.  But we were too focused on “my faith “ and “my anointing” and none of us could claim the testimonies, so our faith didn’t grow.

I wish we had had more wisdom when we were in India.  But I learned a lot from the team in Santa Maria, CA.  As Jesus taught us to pray, it is His kingdom, His power, and His glory.  It’s not about us; it’s all about Him.

JoAnn and I found that when we traveled and could call the team’s testimony our own, we saw more works of healing than when we stood on our own.  And we would return to Santa Maria and share our stories with the group, for we knew the stories didn’t belong just to us – they belonged to the whole team.

If you get a chance to develop a group testimony, do it.  Your faith will grow much faster this way.  After all, Jesus taught us to pray not to “my Father,” but “our Father.”

Stan Smith   ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  http://www.GospelSmith.com