95-Listening to the Gospel Repeatedly#
95-Listening to the Gospel Repeatedly
(JP Text Group - Organized by Yun Dan Feng Qing)
Now each of us opens our mouths to pray to God, right now, give your problems to our Lord Jesus, you must look solely to Him. Here, you will receive His healing, you will receive His power! Present yourself before the Lord Jesus; you are worshiping Him, and He will grant you power.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank You. On this day, You will bless us and lead us! You will supply us at the beginning, and we offer our thanks to You. Jesus is our example, our strength, and our healer. No matter how weak we are, when we come before You, You can make us strong again!
No matter how big the problem is, when we rely on You, You are our assurance. Jesus, we thank You again; we worship and praise You because You are the Lord worthy of worship and praise. You love us so much, and we give this time to You. You will restore us and lead us so that we will be renewed in strength!
We are willing to listen to Your words, let Your words become our strength. You are my help, You are my strength, and You are my stronghold. I have a Lord who never leaves me! He has always loved me. I am willing to worship You; I am willing to lay my heart before You, letting You take away all my worries. I enjoy Your rest. Hallelujah! In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
Acts 14:3-10:
3 They stayed there a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the gospel. 8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
Let us first pray:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise Your grace. We gather again in Your temple to seek Jesus Christ. Here we listen to Your words and hear the gospel. We believe that signs and wonders are the result of Your words. When we listen to Your words, miracles will also happen among us. You will renew our strength and heal every wounded person. You know our needs, and the Holy Spirit will personally nourish everyone at this time. May the Holy Spirit open each of our hearts to understand Your words, let Your words become the strength and help in our lives. Thank You and praise the Lord. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!
The topic of sharing is: Listening to the Gospel Repeatedly
Blessed are those who listen to the gospel, for they have the opportunity to be saved. Blessed are those who listen repeatedly, for they will receive this blessing!
Many people always ask me, "Teacher Ren, how can we increase our faith? Why do we always find our faith lacking? Why does it seem like our prayers are ineffective?" In fact, we are not asking God, saying, "Lord, please give me faith; if You give me faith, I will have faith."
Where does faith come from? It comes from the words of Jesus Christ! That is to say, when you listen to the gospel repeatedly, faith is generated. Faith is a very important bond. You know that everything we can see in this world is produced by the invisible spiritual power.
Just like at the beginning of creation, when the world was still in chaos, in the moment of engulfing darkness, when there was nothing, only the Spirit of God. At that time, God said, "Let there be light," and there was light in this world. Amen! Because the God we believe in is a spirit, we cannot see Him, so we call Him the spiritual realm. What we can see in this world is actually produced by the power of the invisible God and His words, which have brought forth everything in this world today.
What do we rely on to make God's words a help in our lives? By faith. Faith is not saying, "Lord, give me faith, give me faith, give me faith..." You can repeat it a thousand times, but still have no faith. The source of faith comes from repeatedly hearing the words of Christ, from listening to the gospel!
Brothers and sisters, many people want to receive healing and seek breakthroughs in life. Many say you cannot receive because your faith is small, because your faith is not enough, so you cannot receive. We indeed want to obtain some things. I also wish that brothers and sisters could see spiritual blessings with their own eyes today. Faith will definitely see it. Amen!
Verse 9: He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed.
This faith is visible. Brothers and sisters, when you have this faith, you will transform the invisible spiritual blessings into visible blessings that your eyes can see. The wisdom of God is invisible, but when we receive God's wisdom by faith, this wisdom will generate infinite power and wealth for you. This is transformation.
Do not become someone who only listens to sermons in church, then goes back to live as usual, as if this word has nothing to do with you. You have not transformed this word; you have not reconciled this word by faith. This word has not yet related to you in the church. I wish each of you, besides knowing Jesus Christ, could also transform all good things from heaven through faith, so that changes can happen in your life. Receiving healing is the same; God's health is always there. He has the power to heal. How do you make God's health yours? By receiving it through faith. Amen! This is a transformation.
What we tell brothers and sisters is how to generate faith? By listening to the gospel repeatedly! Then you will obtain faith! This faith can transform spiritual blessings into the realities you need, visible blessings that your eyes can see. Amen! Last time we talked about how you should often speak of Jesus Christ. Today I want to tell brothers and sisters that you need to repeatedly listen to the gospel of Jesus Christ!
The first point of sharing is: Listening Repeatedly Ignites Faith
Brothers and sisters, the moment we accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells within us. The power of the Holy Spirit is far greater than the power of the devil. Do you believe this? Many people do not experience the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit because they lack faith to receive blessings. How do you reignite your faith? By repeatedly listening to the gospel.
There is a person who is quite special; he is a lame man. How could Paul possibly go to Lystra to preach the gospel? What exactly did Paul preach? Look at verse 3; actually, at the beginning, Paul and Barnabas went together to Iconium. Paul spent his life preaching nothing else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Besides that, I know nothing else. When Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium, they preached the gospel, but not everyone was willing to accept the gospel. Those in the Jewish synagogue were angry with Paul and drove them out.
We see in verse 3: They stayed there a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
What do you see? Today I want to share a very important truth with brothers and sisters. Many people want to receive signs and wonders and I also wish for signs and wonders to appear in you. How do signs and wonders come? They come when you listen to God's words and speak God's words!
Paul and Barnabas boldly preached in the city of Iconium, and the Lord confirmed their message by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. Therefore, signs and wonders are not our pursuit; the words of Jesus Christ are what we pursue. Amen! When you have the words of Jesus Christ within you, this word can produce signs and wonders. Brothers and sisters, this means you should not strive to pursue signs or gifts. You only need to focus your heart on the words of Jesus Christ, and signs will be produced!
Later, what is the purpose of signs and wonders? Mark 16 tells us: These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name, they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues. Amen!
This means that the appearance of signs and wonders is not to satisfy our preferences. Someone once said to Jesus, "Jesus, show me some signs." Jesus replied, "No signs will be given except the sign of Jonah." It is not that Jesus cannot perform signs; it is because these people only see signs as tricks, asking Jesus to show them something else. Jesus said no because the purpose of signs and wonders is only to prove that God's words are true. Amen!
This Bible we have in our hands contains God's words. How do we prove that it is God's word? When you use this word to bless others, this word will produce results! It proves that this word is from God, not from us. When Paul and Barnabas preached, many signs and wonders appeared to prove God's grace! Amen!
What is the way of grace? The way of grace! It does not say that the signs performed by Paul and Barnabas prove that the law is correct. Is that necessary? No! But they proved the way of God's grace. Amen! Brothers and sisters, we are also explaining the grace of Jesus Christ to others.
We are an important group of people. When you focus your attention on Jesus Christ, signs and wonders will appear to prove that the grace you preach is correct. But what did the people do when Paul preached the gospel? They rushed to insult the apostles and stone them. When the apostles discovered this, they went to another city, Lystra.
Verse 7 says they went to Lystra and continued to preach the gospel. The gospel is good news; the gospel comes from Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the beginning of the gospel. Amen! When Paul and his companions went to a city called Lystra, they kept preaching the gospel there. Today I also want to share a little Greek with you. I have been learning Greek. In Greek, there is a term called the imperfect tense. What does the imperfect tense mean? It means that the action is not finished, so it is called the imperfect.
Preaching the gospel is an imperfect tense. Paul preached the gospel today and will preach again tomorrow. Today has been preached, and tomorrow will be preached again because this matter is not finished; therefore, it is called the imperfect tense. Paul kept preaching and preaching. Today in this city, tomorrow in another city, in short, he kept doing the work of preaching the gospel. Amen!
We are also preaching the gospel; this is also an imperfect tense. In the Greek of the Bible, there is a term called the perfect tense. For example, our birth is a perfect tense. You will not be born a second time. This has already ended; this is the perfect tense. When Jesus said "It is finished" on the cross, it means that all His redemptive work has been completed. That is also a perfect tense and does not need to be repeated. Amen!
When Paul preached the gospel, it was an imperfect tense. He kept preaching and preaching, and whenever he met someone, he would preach. In fact, he did not know much about the city of Lystra. He would go wherever he saw people to preach Jesus Christ. This is our model to follow! Wherever there are people, preach. Perhaps after these people listened, they left, and Paul went to another place to start preaching again. Finally, he found a good place. What place? Perhaps it was a market where many people gathered. There was a special person there, this lame man. How does the Bible describe this person?
In Lystra, there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.
It proves that he was lame. The original Greek translation is even more straightforward, meaning he was lame from his mother's womb and had never walked. Why does God want to tell us this so clearly? This person seems hopeless in our eyes; he has been like this since birth, disabled, with no strength in his legs, unable to stand up. Perhaps he has been like this for decades, and every day he is carried and placed in a crowded place, hoping others will give him some money or food, living like this all the time.
Paul kept preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ here. While he was preaching, a group of people came and went, and Paul continued to preach. However, there was one person who did not leave, and that was this lame man. Because he could not walk, he listened repeatedly, again and again. Suddenly, a miracle happened. While he was listening to Paul preach, Paul looked directly at him and saw that he had faith to be healed. In fact, the "listening" here is also an imperfect tense. As Paul kept preaching, he kept listening. You are much luckier than him; you can go home after listening, but this man could not walk and needed someone to carry him. So he listened repeatedly, and suddenly a miracle occurred. When Paul saw this man, he found that he had faith and could be healed.
I remember last year there was a brother from Northeast China who has since returned. He had a heart condition for over a decade, which he developed while harvesting corn. He had arrhythmia and various heart diseases. Every time he had an episode, it was severe, requiring emergency hospitalization due to shock, costing two to three thousand yuan each time. For over a decade, the money he and his wife earned was almost all spent on hospitals. When this brother came to our church, he mentioned this issue. We told him that the power of Jesus Christ is upon us. If you believe, by His stripes, you will be healed. I asked him, "Do you believe?" At that moment, he stood up and said, "Amen!" Later, he told me that he went to the hospital for a check-up that week and found that all his heart diseases were gone.
In fact, while you are here listening to the sermon, I can see that you have faith. How can I see this? You will notice that some people listen like this, while others have their eyes like this, and some already have faith, just lacking a little. We say that by the stripes of our Lord Jesus, you are to receive your healing. This person said, "Amen!" and received it. The lame man kept looking at Paul, listening as Paul spoke. Suddenly, the words of Christ produced effects within him. Perhaps Paul was also saying, "You believe that Jesus Christ has risen; He has healed countless people. If you believe, you will also be healed." This person thought, "Yes, that is what I am saying. I believe I will be healed."
Paul saw him and said, "Okay, now you stand up, straighten your legs." Did this man listen to Paul's words? No, he did not listen. Why? Paul told him to stand up, but that man jumped up instead. I have also contemplated this; perhaps at that moment, Paul thought, "This man has never stood up before. If he can stand, it is God's grace."
But what Paul did not expect was that God's healing was so thorough that he who could not walk could jump. A child must go through a standing process before he can jump, right? But this man did not need to because the original text specifically tells us that he had never stood from the time he came out of his mother's womb. Now this man could jump and walk. Amen! This is God's healing; this is the wonderful effect produced by this man listening to the gospel repeatedly!
Brothers and sisters, we should listen to the sermon like this. Nowadays, technology is very advanced; every week's sermons are recorded. Some people say, "Teacher Ren, I have already listened to that sermon." I want to say that if you have this need, listen repeatedly. Do not think that because you have heard it, you have completed your task. You are continuously receiving until it becomes yours! Just like this lame man, he listened repeatedly until he received and obtained that blessing.
I encourage brothers and sisters to take this recording home and listen to it repeatedly. Do not say, "I have already heard it," because God wants to bless you through this word, allowing you to receive healing. Receive His supply, receive His strength. Until you receive it, you will say, "Lord, I thank You; I have received it!" Thank the Lord!
The second point of sharing: Focus on the Words of Christ, Meditate on Them, Declare Them
Brothers and sisters, you must focus your attention on the words of Christ and then meditate on this word. Let us read Psalm 1:2-3 together:
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever he does prospers.
You all have memorized this. Do you know what important meaning is here? His delight is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates on God's words day and night. If you do not meditate on Him, it may have no effect on you. I have told brothers and sisters before that even if you lay this Bible under your bed and cover it with a quilt, no power will appear. If you hug the Bible to sleep every day, no power will appear unless you meditate on it.
When you meditate day and night, the word will generate power. Amen! His delight is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates day and night; this person is blessed! How great is his blessing? He is like a tree planted by streams of water. Do you remember? It is not river water; it is not stagnant water; it is living water. Living water refers to our Lord Jesus Christ. When this tree is by living water, it is different from other trees because it has a supply at all times, and this supply causes its leaves not to wither and to bear fruit in season.
The fruit can be understood as our good deeds. That is to say, when your roots are deeply planted in the stream of supply from Jesus Christ, you will definitely bear good fruit. And your leaves will not wither. Perhaps you are already fifty years old, and others say you look only thirty. Your leaves do not wither. Amen! This is the benefit of meditating on God's words day and night.
The meaning of this passage is to meditate on the books of Moses, which are the first five books of the Old Testament. Here I want to tell brothers and sisters how to read the Bible and how to discern when reading the Bible. Now we read this passage; do not go back to the Old Testament law. Do not meditate on the Ten Commandments; meditate on the words of Jesus Christ. Amen! This passage should be read like this: I tell you how to read the Bible; you must read it like this: His delight is in the words of Jesus Christ, and he meditates day and night; this person is blessed!
We meditate day and night on the words of Jesus Christ, and whatever he does prospers. Amen! We rely on faith, meditating on the words of Jesus Christ, letting His words become a lasting strength and help in our lives. If you do not listen to the sermon for two weeks, you will feel weak, just like if we do not eat for three days, we will have no strength. This is our spiritual food and supply. Thank the Lord! I wish brothers and sisters would often listen to the words of Christ and then meditate day and night. This word can bring you endless blessings. Amen!
Do not become law-oriented. Many people say, "Teacher Ren, why doesn't God heal me? I go to church every week; why doesn't God heal me? I pray every day; why doesn't God heal me? I have already listened to your series on communion and received communion; why doesn't God heal me?" Where do you find the problem? If he does not believe, he absolutely will not come to listen to the sermon or pray. The problem is that this is a works-based approach! It is not receiving by faith.
I will explain this problem clearly. I have already listened to the sermon; why doesn't God heal me? I have already prayed; why doesn't God heal me? Is it the law? The Old Testament law is that I have already done good deeds, so You should bless me. This goes back to the law. He says, "Lord, I have prayed for ten hours every day; why haven't You blessed me?" This is the heart of the law!
You must know that the healing, blessing, and supply you receive are God's grace given freely, with no other reason than that He is your Father, and you are His child. Even if you do not pray today, it does not mean that everyone does not need to pray. Even if you do not pray today, you can say, "Lord, I need Your supply." He will still supply you. But you cannot say, "I have prayed for ten hours today; You must take away this illness." This again becomes a works-based approach. What we need to do is meditate on the grace of Jesus Christ day and night, and you will receive it. Amen! Faith is knowing that I do not deserve it, but I am willing to look to You. Your mercy is upon me; Your supply is upon me. Amen!
Brothers and sisters, many times people will say you should focus on Jesus Christ. When you have insomnia, you should know that the devil is at work. Some time ago, someone told me that there were more than a dozen demons in that sister from our church—unclean spirits, lustful spirits, and so on...
I asked, "How do you know so many demons so clearly?" She said, "We have been casting them out for a long time, and we still haven't finished. There are still several demons that haven't come out." Brothers and sisters, is it our own effort? Did Jesus say, "You have too many demons; go back first; there are still a few demons that haven't been cast out; come back tomorrow..."?
Has this situation ever occurred? It seems very complicated, as if we are trying hard to cast out demons. You forget that you rely on the power of Jesus Christ! You only need to meditate day and night on how Jesus does it, think about His words, and receive this. Amen! So the blessings you receive from Christ are given freely. When you sit here receiving His words, it is also a free reception.
When you have God's words in your heart, you do not need to shout at the devil, "In the name of Jesus, do not come in..." Is it necessary to say this? You only need to praise our Lord Jesus every day. He is always in me; the Holy Spirit is in me; He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world! At this moment, does the devil still have a chance to enter? No! If you are worried and anxious, "What should I do?" Can the devil not attack you? The important thing is to fill your heart with God's words! Naturally, you will have faith!
You are not saying, "Lord, give me faith so that I can overcome the devil." Jesus says, "What are you saying? You just need to use My words to resist him!" Know what is inside you. Just like we often say, light never negotiates with darkness. When light comes, darkness must disappear. When you have God's words, the devil will definitely disappear. It is not you who are fighting; he has already failed.
I have been to some churches where some people say, "In the name of Jesus, I crush the devil, I crush the devil..." Can you crush the devil? Can the devil be crushed? He is a spirit; you cannot see him. How can you crush him? We do not scare the devil away every day. You only need to focus on Jesus Christ, meditate on His words every day, and the devil will not be able to influence you. He may always come to tempt you and mislead you. His goal is to make you not attend gatherings, to go once a month, and not to pray every day. Just recite a little in the morning... After you fall for it, you will find yourself getting weaker and weaker, and your faith will disappear. At this point, he will start attacking you. The devil is most afraid that you have God's words in your heart. This is what he cannot defeat you with! Amen!
Hebrews 12 has this passage:
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith! Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. What does it mean to be the author and perfecter of faith? The author is the beginning, and the perfecter is the end. Jesus is the beginning of faith; Jesus is the end of faith. Amen! We fix our eyes on Jesus Christ! He is the beginning of your faith; He is the end of your faith. Amen!
The more time you spend drawing near to Jesus, the more you look to Him, the more your faith will grow. When you listen to the gospel repeatedly, your faith will grow. This is a method. We do not strive every day, trying every means to make our faith grow. You only need to immerse yourself in Jesus Christ and His words. Through reading the Bible, listening to sermons, or gathering every day, these are all methods to generate faith. Amen! When you meditate on the words of Christ, you will have faith. Jesus did not say, "You must repeatedly meditate on the Ten Commandments, and your faith will grow." If you meditate on the Ten Commandments, will you have faith? We rarely teach this aspect.
Currently, many churches in the country require memorizing the Ten Commandments before gatherings: "You shall have no other gods before Me..." After memorizing, they say, "May God increase your faith." If you memorize the Ten Commandments every day, where does your faith come from? The law cannot generate faith. The more the law is preached, the further people move away from God. The Jesus of the New Testament is the same God as the God of the Old Testament, but do you like the God of the Old Testament?
Many people say, "If only God were like the Jesus of the New Testament, how great that would be! The God of the Old Testament is too scary. If you disobey, there is punishment, death, and plague..." This is indeed the case, but the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament is the same God. Amen! The reason is that the covenants are different. The Old Testament is the law, the covenant under the Ten Commandments. If you do not obey, you will not receive. But under the New Testament, Jesus has already fulfilled what you needed under the Old Testament. You can receive this blessing.
Look at this passage; I just told you how to understand this verse: His delight is in the words of Jesus Christ, and he meditates day and night; this person is blessed. Amen! Thank the Lord! We must know that it is Jesus who accomplishes all the blessings we need. Without Him, we would have no faith.
Romans 10:17 says: Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Where does your faith come from? It comes from hearing the message. What kind of message must you hear to have faith? You must hear the words of Christ to have faith! It does not mean you should listen to the Ten Commandments, which make you more afraid, make you feel you have more sins, feel unworthy, and feel you should die. But the more you listen to the words of Christ, the more faith you will have and the more willing you will be to draw near to this God. Therefore, in the Old Testament, people were afraid of God and kept their distance, but in the New Testament, they like to be close to Jesus, to touch Him. Think about it; people are willing to be close to this God because He is grace and truth. Amen! People are willing to draw near to this Lord because the words of Jesus Christ can generate faith. Amen!
Exodus 15:25-26:
25 Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and tested them. 26 He said, "If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you."
This long passage of scripture ends with your favorite line: "For I am the Lord who heals you." If the Lord said, "I am the one who repairs you," would you still like this God? But God is very clear: "For I am the Lord who heals you." His name is Jehovah Rapha. Amen! Look carefully; are there any conditions? There are conditions. Let me read the conditions to you. Under what circumstances is God your healer? Pay attention.
First: If you listen carefully to the Lord your God’s words, listen to God's words.
Second: And do what is right in His eyes, have good deeds.
Third: Pay attention to His commands, keep all His decrees.
All the commandments must be followed, right? Then He says, "I will not bring upon you the diseases I brought upon the Egyptians." Isn't that scary? You must meet all these conditions for God not to bring diseases upon you. If you cannot meet them, you all know the answer. So someone asks me, "Why does God always punish the Israelites in the Old Testament? Why does He always strike them?" This is the reason. This is the law.
But today we are not under the law; we are under grace. When you read this verse, I want to tell you how to read it. What has Jesus Christ done for you? You must put Him into this verse. Look carefully; the first sentence is: "If you listen carefully to the Lord your God’s words," is it listening? It starts with listening. "And do what is right in His eyes," Jesus Christ has already done what is right in God's eyes. He is righteous and holy, without sin. Everything He did was upright. What Jesus did on the cross for you. Amen!
"Pay attention to My commands, keep all My decrees," how many? All of them. Amen! Because we cannot obtain them, does the Old Testament have blessings? Yes, there are many blessings. Many people do not understand that we are under grace, and God has abolished the Old Testament. Has the Old Testament been abolished? No! It just means that the covenant has passed because under that covenant, you cannot receive God's blessings!
Are there blessings in Deuteronomy 28? Yes, there are many blessings: "You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out." Can you receive them? Under what circumstances can you receive them? By keeping all His decrees and laws, you will receive that blessing. Amen! Can the Israelites keep them? No, they cannot.
So Jesus came; He kept what we could not keep for us. Amen! He fulfilled what we could not follow. He bore the curses that were upon us in the law. Can you keep the law today? Not one, but all of them. Can you keep them all? You cannot. There is a phrase later: "If you cannot keep it, He will bring upon you the diseases of the Egyptians."
We cannot keep it; the problem arises. Jesus said, "I know you cannot keep it, so I came. I took your sins and bore them for you." The curse of the law fell upon me, and I shed my precious blood on the cross for you. Amen! Otherwise, Jesus would have no need to die. He shed His blood to pay for all our sins. At this point, God said, "Because My Son Jesus Christ has kept My commandments for you, has kept all My decrees for you, I will not bring upon you the diseases of the Egyptians; instead, I am the Lord who heals you." Can you understand this meaning?
Whenever you want God to heal you, you should remember that it is because Jesus offered Himself; He paid the price for my sins, so God heals me! Therefore, God will not bring this disease upon me; disease does not come from God!
This passage has made it very clear. The way to receive this blessing is to listen to the words of Jesus Christ! Amen! You must know what God has done for you. You must know what Jesus Christ has brought for you on the cross. What He brings are the blessings you cannot obtain in the Old Testament, which are now poured out upon you! When you receive these blessings, you must receive them in the name of Jesus Christ. Because it is Jesus who has completed all this for us, we are just receiving it freely! Amen!
So the Lord is your healer. If it were not for this, people would have no chance to receive God's blessings. If Jesus Christ had not fulfilled the law for us, we would have no chance to receive healing. To receive healing, you must have good deeds and must keep all the laws and commandments. If this is the case, the Israelites would not have so many sick people healed.
Let me give you an example. In the Old Testament, a person with a bleeding disorder is considered unclean according to the law in Leviticus. Such a person must be isolated and cannot be among others. They must live in a place where there are no people until they are clean before they can return. This person cannot enter public places or go to supermarkets or crowded areas. This is the law of Leviticus in the Old Testament. There was a woman who had a bleeding disorder for twelve years, which perfectly fits this standard. According to the law, she could not enter the crowd. This woman violated the law; she squeezed into the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus' garment. As a result, she was instantly healed. Did she qualify for healing? No, she did not.
If you want to be healed, you must follow all the above. Did this woman follow them? Did she receive healing? Yes, because of Jesus Christ. She sought Jesus, not the high priest. She sought not the God of the Old Testament, filled with law, but the Jesus Christ filled with grace. So Jesus turned and said, "Do not be afraid, daughter; your faith has healed you." Did this woman know the law? She knew she had violated the law. Jesus turned and said, "Do not be afraid; go in peace."
This is our Jesus Christ. He did not say that this woman must follow the law to be healed. As long as you believe, you can receive such healing. Amen! No matter what kind of disease happens to you, believe that I am just receiving blessings from God freely, receiving His healing. This applies to your body, your property, your business, and everything you have. It is God's free blessing to you. Because Jesus has already completed it for you, the blessings of the Old Testament are to come upon you! Amen!
Next, look at Luke 5:15: But the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.
Because Jesus is grace and truth, wherever He goes, there are always many people following Him. Amen! If you preach the gospel correctly, many people will follow you to believe in Jesus because Jesus is such a wonderful Lord, a gracious Lord. Amen! Many people gathered; wherever Jesus went, they followed Him. What was their purpose for coming to Jesus? They came for two things: to hear Him preach and to be healed of their sicknesses. Amen!
Do not get these two things mixed up. Some people come to Jesus only for healing and do not want to listen to the sermon. They fall asleep during the sermon and say, "Pastor, hurry and pray for me; I have this and that..." Their purpose for coming is not to listen to the sermon but just to be healed. If Jesus reversed these two things, then the thousands of people following Jesus would be there for Him to heal them. After Jesus healed them, He would preach to them. That would be a disaster because all preachers would have to learn one thing: heal people first, then preach.
If this were the case, we would suffer great loss because we are human. They are looking for who? Jesus! We say, "Lord, You are so biased. The Israelites can find You; where can I find You? My current pastor has no ability to heal me, so we cannot have the same grace as the Israelites."
But Jesus did it this way. So many people first came to hear the sermon, and then Jesus healed them. Jesus healed them with His words! Amen! I call it "word therapy." It is not chemical; it is verbal. Word therapy is very important. Generally, only those with terminal illnesses need chemotherapy. If you have a terminal illness, do not be afraid. Come here for word therapy. Jesus first wants to supply you with His words. Then, through His words, He will heal you. This way, no matter where you are or how many years pass, we will have the ability and authority to receive healing. All of us are those who possess the words of Jesus Christ. As long as you have this Bible, you can read God's words and receive healing through the words of Jesus Christ.
So the purpose of these people gathering is first to hear the sermon and second to hope to receive healing. Many people will pray for those who have never heard the sermon. In fact, such things are difficult for me. I am willing to go, but many times it is ineffective. For example, this person has never heard of Jesus. His family believes, but they have never preached the gospel to him. After he got sick, his family said, "You should go have my relative pray for you." He is very willing. We go, and after praying, there is no effect. The reason is not on us; it is because this person does not understand what we are doing.
Many people mistakenly treat Jesus as another idol. Let me tell you what an idol-like Jesus is. The God of wealth, as soon as you start a business, you are not sure. You burn incense before the God of wealth and bow down, "Bless me!" After you have money, do you still worship? Go cool off! When I have no money, I will find you again. Many people now believe in Jesus in an idol-like manner. When they have a disease or problem, they say, "Jesus, please heal me and help me." After the problem is solved, the person is gone.
In fact, we must first listen to the sermon, and then through this word, we will gain strength and healing. This is the correct order. Otherwise, when we heal others, this person has never heard the gospel, but we say, "By the stripes of Jesus, you have already been healed." He says, "What are you talking about? When did He get beaten? Because we have sins." He asks, "Why do we have sins? Because Adam sinned." Who is Adam? Can you explain it clearly?
What he needs is to hear the sermon. Amen! At this point, do not explain; there are too many things to explain. The best way is to let him listen to the sermon. He listens repeatedly until he finally understands. Disease does not come from God. We are tempted by our desires and fall into the devil's temptations. This disease will disturb us, but God will heal my body! I know that two thousand years ago, He bore stripes on the cross for me, so I have already received healing. This is the word of the Bible!
This promise is for me. At this time, we can say, "By the stripes of our Lord Jesus, you have already received healing." He says, "Amen," and understands what it means. So brothers and sisters, we must let people come to hear the sermon, and through hearing the sermon, they will receive healing!
Since we established the church until now, I always give others this advice. Of course, many people among us have already received healing. I will tell them, "We have a meeting on Thursday night; you should come to hear the sermon first, and then I will pray for you." "We have a meeting on Sunday afternoon; you should come to hear the sermon first, and then I will pray for you." First, let him hear the voice of Jesus Christ. Who is Christ? Why can He heal me? Why can I receive this blessing? I have told you the reason. So when this person is listening to the sermon, God's words will take effect. Amen! So many people first came to hear the words of Jesus, and then Jesus healed them.
Luke 6:17-19:
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch Him, because power was coming from Him and healing them all.
Isn't it wonderful? These people who were healed all had one common condition: they came to find Jesus first to hear the sermon. Amen! People from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal regions of Tyre and Sidon came. They all wanted to hear Jesus preach. So I wish that the purpose of your coming to church is only one: to hear the words of Jesus Christ. This way, you will receive power, signs, and various gifts.
They also hoped to receive healing from their diseases. Isn't it wonderful? It repeated again, saying that your purpose is first to hear the sermon. If you have many burdens, put them down first and listen to the sermon. During the process of listening to the sermon, God will give you strength and faith. Then you will find that the problem is solved. You only need to sit down and rest at the feet of Jesus, continuously listening, listening, listening... Faith will be generated, and the problem will be solved.
Those troubled by impure spirits were also healed. It does not mention that Jesus looked and said, "Wow, you have so many demons; hurry up and come here. Let's fast for a day and cast out all the demons." During the process of preaching, the demons were cast out. Because the words of Jesus have power, when Jesus was preaching, power was coming from Him. Amen!
Isn't it wonderful? You are listening to the words of Jesus Christ. I also tell you that at this moment, God will use His words, and power will continuously come out, striking your cancer, striking your pain, and then your body will begin to heal. It is that simple! While you are continuously listening to the sermon, these demons cannot stand it anymore. They must exalt Jesus, saying, "I really cannot stand it anymore; I will not listen anymore; I am leaving..."
Do you need to fast every day to rebuke them? Do you need to shout to scare them away? They will not be afraid of you; what they fear is the words of Jesus Christ. Amen! You must repeatedly listen to the words of Jesus Christ! His words are full of power! Amen! It is not that only a part of the people are healed; all those who listened to the sermon received what they wanted!
You are blessed! Because at this moment, you are listening to the sermon. Some people come to the pastor only for healing, not wanting to listen to the sermon, not needing the words of Jesus. They do not want to listen to the sermon; they just want me to heal them. Sometimes God will heal them, but the faith for this healing is extremely short-lived.
I do not want brothers and sisters to only listen for this one hour here during the week and have no relation to this word at other times. I wish for you to listen repeatedly until the words of Jesus Christ in this sermon become yours! Because during the process of listening, power is generated. Amen! It will change your body. No matter what conclusion the doctor gives you, during the process of listening to the sermon, God will heal you. Amen!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise Your grace! We can do nothing, but You are omnipotent! The Jesus we believe in does not come to find our faults, nor does He come to repair us; rather, He is our healing God! He is the God who gives power and grace to us! I believe that on the cross, Jesus has accomplished everything for me!
God has completely accepted me. God reminds me with His words that I have the righteousness of Jesus Christ in Christ! I have the holiness of Jesus Christ upon me, and I also have the victory of Jesus Christ! It is not by my efforts that I overcome the problems in my life or my worries; it is by the power of Jesus Christ that I am loved by God! Jesus, I thank You! Today, give me this message, allowing me to continuously meditate on Your words and repeatedly listen to God's words.
Without Your words, many times I start to complain, become anxious, and condemn myself. What I need is to continuously listen, meditate, and declare that I am victorious in Christ! I believe this year is extraordinary, and this week, everything in my life will turn around. Although I have not yet seen the results I desire, I know that during the process of listening to the sermon, power has already been released and is changing these things. Fear will disappear from me, and my worries will be eliminated because I have the words of Christ within me; He is my strength! Thank You and praise You for supplying me like this! All glory be to You! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray! Amen!