Welcome to Waymaker Church! We are so excited to have you join us today! We exist to Encounter, Live for, and Advance the Kingdom of God!

As we enter the Christmas Season I was pondering on the significance of the birth of Christ. In Matthew 1:21-23 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.””

‌First, the precious gift of the Savior was immense. We were hopelessly lost in sin without Him, but now we have been brought near by the blood of Jesus. We can be born again.

Secondly, He is Immanuel God with us. This is extremely significant and must not be overlooked. Jesus was God in the flesh.

This means that we can look at the life of Jesus to understand the will of God. Jesus lived to reveal and glorify God.

Today, the Lord has instructed me to teach you that Healing is the children’s bread. I will show you through the scripture the nature of God to heal, the removal of the curse by the blood of Jesus, and the assignment we have been given as believers.

It is the will of God to heal. How do we know that? We see it expressed in the life of Jesus. Remember, He is Immanuel God with us, the visible image of the invisible God. We must choose to receive it. The fall of man resulted in the perpetuation of death and destruction to all mankind. Part of the fall was the curse which included sickness and disease.

The Gospel is Good News. Christ has redeemed us from the Curse.

Healing is the Children’s bread. As Jesus began His ministry, would you say that what He said and did first was likely most important? Think about it. You’re the son of God, you have waited for 30 years to do what your Father has sent you to do. What you say and do first probably matters quite a bit, because it is going to se the tone for what your ministry is.

Message #1 is found in Matthew 4:17.
Action #1: Matthew 4:23-24.

He preached for people to repent, and He healed. Do you see that healing was not just sickness and disease but also freedom from demonic possession and others issues?

‌When we read this passage I believe that there are often two internal responses, one is faith to be healed, and the other is what I call the Yeah But Syndrome. Yeah but we prayed one time and nothing happened. Yeah but we asked God for something in this situation and it didn’t happen. The result of the Yeah but Syndrome is doubt and unbelief.

Jesus came to reveal the Father. What I know from study is that you can not show me a single place in scripture where someone came to Jesus for healing and he didn’t heal them.

The question I have for you this morning is this: Has God changed?

1. Wounded for our transgressions: human deviation from the expressed will of God. Our choice to intentionally disobey, willful disobedience.

‌2. Bruised for our Iniquities: Iniquity is a premeditated choice, continuing without repentance.

‌3. Chastisement for our peace: This speaks of correction intended to produce righteousness. A stubborn or rebellious person needs chastening.

‌4. By His stripes we are healed: Jesus paid for mental, emotional, and physical healing in our lives. This was part of the atonement.

‌When Jesus came to the earth He preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healed sickness and disease.

What do we do when our experience and belief don’t line up? We turn back to the word. Jesus said, He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

‌What I can tell you this morning is that it is not our job to heal. It is our job to seek the Lord and be obedient to what He says. We are to believe God and lay hands on the sick. It is our job to renew our mind with the word of God. We are to draw near to Him to hear what He is instructing us to do.

We must learn to be sensitive to the Spirit and He will direct us.

‌Now at times there are hindrances to receiving healing.

1. ‌Iniquity: premeditated sin that continues without repentance.
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.”

‌2. Doubt and Unbelief: Mark 11:22-24 “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”

3. ‌Un-forgiveness: Mark 11:25-26 ““And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.””

‌4. Suffering: Sin and brokenness leads our hearts away from trust.

‌Jesus never promised us a life without pain or trial. Suffering is as result of sin and the fall, and we must remember that the fullness of creation has not been redeemed yet. Remember Jesus prayed in John 17:15.

The American Gospel says, God only wants us happy, wealthy, and blessed. He is only there for my blessing, benefit, and good. As a good father He does bless me, He does things that are for my benefit and good, but He also allows me to walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

‌In His understanding and timing he allows us to walk through situations that although tough will build our character, and trust in Him. If we believe that becoming a believer means nothing bad will every happen to us we will have great difficulty reconciling our faith and our situation.

‌We can easily begin to think. Where is God? I thought he was for my good. I thought he wanted to bless me and now we have a Crisis of faith because our beliefs don’t line up with our experience.

‌How do we reconcile this? Go back to the word. What does it say? God has revealed himself through the word. He has revealed Himself through His Son Jesus. Jesus purpose was to reveal the Father. He is Immanuel God with us.

‌To walk free from Hindrances we must repent of sin, renew our mind with the word to be free from doubt and unbelief, and learn to forgive as often as it is needed.

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Jesus revealed the nature of God and His kingdom. He through His death and resurrection conquered the enemy paying the price for our healing, and victory. Then He commanded those who believe in Him to do the same.

‌We have received the great commission. Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:14-18.

‌We are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. We are to baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Disciple them by teaching them to do all that he has commanded. We are to cast out demons, speak in new tongues, and lay hands on the sick. He promises to be with us and protect us.