Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED.”

Did that mean more than He was surrendering His earthly body?

I believe it meant that everything He needed to provide for us — to equip us — was complete.  He finished what was required of Him.

Because of Jesus, we were given authority.

Luke 10:19
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Matthew 16:19
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 10:7-8
And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,  cast out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.”

I was reading in the Book of John this morning and I stopped at chapter 5.   I couldn’t go past the story of the sick man at the healing pool of Bethesda.    Do you remember that story?   Jesus approached an invalid man who had been there for 38 years.

In Jerusalem there was a pool called Bethesda where a healing angel would stir the water.  After the angel stirred the water — the first person in the pool would be healed of whatever infirmity he had.   But there sat a man for 38 years!   Jesus asked him what we might think was a strange question … “Do you want to be healed?”  or depending on the version — “Do you want to be made well?”

Why would Jesus ask someone sick if they wanted to be healed?  Jesus knew the man’s heart.

If you had been sick and tormented for 38 years and someone asked if you wanted to be healed, what would you say?   The expected response would have been, “YES!  I WANT TO BE HEALED.  I WANT TO BE WELL!”   Instead, this man began to give excuses.  Self-pity oozed from his lips as he explained why he was still in such a position.

John 5:7
The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

After 38 years, I would think the man would have kept a spot right beside of the pool.  If nothing else, he could have just rolled into the pool if he were desperate for healing.

Jesus didn’t discuss it any longer, but told him to pick up his mat and walk.

God is so merciful with us.

Those of you who have read my posts over the years know that it was my desperation FOR FREEDOM that spurred me to delve into the Bible.  I didn’t have anyone to teach me other than the Holy Spirit.   I didn’t know a soul who knew about spiritual warfare or deliverance.  All I knew was my mind was tormented with fear and it was debilitating.   The fear really began to manifest when I was 18 years old.

It has been a wonderful journey with the Lord.  As I chased after the things of God, He healed me layer upon layer.   Jesus had already done the work.  I just had to seek the freedom!

I ask the same question to you:  Do you want to be well?

Don’t be too quick to answer yes unless you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and seek healing in places that might not look like your church.   The churches I attended were full of people who were saved, but they had no knowledge about bondage and how to set the captives free.    Trust me, there isn’t ONE person who doesn’t need some type of emotional healing.  You can’t walk on planet earth without having some type of wound or issue.

When I wanted the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I went to every church, meeting, or conference I could attend where I could receive prayer.   Over the years I have sought emotional healing as well.   After we left our “home” church, I went to a ministry through our current church called Cleansing Stream.  It was helpful and God did a great work in my heart.  But even then — it was only a few layers and there were still more to remove.   I had gone over many spiritual warfare worksheets over the years where I renounced things such as horoscopes … but still, I knew there were still things that needed to be touched.

Recently, God brought this precious church called The Church @ New Bern across my path.   Some of the leadership of that church have a prophetic training webinar each Tuesday night (The Prophetic Training . Com).    They offer a safe place for people to learn and practice using their prophetic gifts.   My first time visiting, Brent Engelman – the host said, “The Lord wants to know if you will give up your right to be angry.”  OUCH.  Wow, I STILL had some unforgiveness?  I honestly didn’t realize it because it was my will to release people.  That one prophetic understanding from Brent unlocked the chains and opened my eyes.   Another person at that church, Tammy, saw the deep wounds in my heart.   That did it!  I was determined to deal with everything that had been exposed!  It was my heart’s desire to be free and whole.

My friend Tamara agreed to walk through healing with me.  She is gifted prophetically and has been trained to help set the captives free.   I shared this in another blog post, but she instructed me to write letters to everyone who had ever hurt me.  I began each letter with “You hurt me when …” and ended with “but I choose to forgive you and move forward with my life.”   After I wrote 11 notebook pages (front, back, and in the margins mind you) I burned them.  It was FREEING to say the least.  It finally helped me get all of the HURT out and then forgiveness could come.

The next step was meeting with Tamara so that any lingering strings of the enemy could be severed.   God did it!  He used His precious people to minister life to me.  I will always be thankful to Brent, Tammy, and Tamara.   See — Jesus had already provided everything that needed to be done for my freedom, but I still had to seek it out.  I had to be willing to SEEK and SURRENDER.

I have just given you a few great places to seek healing.  Also, if you would like to meet with my friend Tamara, you can reach her at:  [email protected].

IT IS FINISHED …

Jesus did it for you!

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