Foundations of Healing~ Ganeida

Reading:“These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed." Mark 16:17~18

Jesus said that He came that we might have life ~ & have it abundantly.  Week after week you will hear us teaching on a variety of subjects & that might seem rather random to you.  It is not.  It all comes down to one thing: the life we have in Jesus.

We cannot have the abundant life Jesus promises us if we don’t know the Truth about who He is, why He came & what He has done for us.  We cannot have the abundant life Jesus promises us if we do not believe what He has told us.  We cannot have the abundant life if we do not practise the Word of Life. We will not have the abundant life if we do not allow the scriptures to renew our mind & correct wrong thinking.  We will not have the abundant life if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to build up our inner man. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Matthew 12:34 

Our actions do not lie.  They will always reveal what our hearts believe.

Because this is a fallen world it conspires to keep us in bondage to wrong thinking about ourselves, about God & about the nature of sickness. It starts with understanding the very nature of God.

·      For the LORD is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. Psalm 100:5

God is good & He gives only good things to His children. So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. These are Jesus very own words as recorded in Matthew 7:11 Do you understand that this is for you?  If you have asked in Jesus name it is the Father’s delight to give you good things.

His love continues forever… He does not change. If  “I am the LORD who heals you" was true for the Israelites in Exodus 15:26 how much more is it true for us according to Isaiah 53:5  But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

He is faithful. The word in Hebrew [ ʼâman] means to be trustworthy as does pistos in the Greek. We can trust Him.  We can trust what He says.  We can trust His actions.

This is diametrically opposed to satan who is called the Father of Lies, the Accuser, the Deciever, the one who comes to steal, kill & destroy.

So logically, is sickness of God?  Is it a *good gift*?  Is it consistent with what God says about Himself? Is it consistent with His nature?  Of course not!  Do not assign to God satan’s lies!

·      Secondly we must understand who we have become in God’s sight when we became believers in His son, Jesus Christ.

 He made Him who knew no sin to be a sin offering for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

We are not sinners.  We may sin but we are no longer sinners under the condemnation & wrath of God. We are redeemed.  We have been bought with a price.  We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Light. 

As satan’s kingdom brought an inheritance of death, destruction, judgement so then does God’s kingdom infer a godly heritage of divine health, blessing, peace & joy but we will never access any of it so long as we still believe satan’s lies:

I don’t deserve…

God doesn’t love me as much as…

Healing is for someone else, not me…

I’m not worthy…

Healing isn’t for everybody…

And on & on he goes sowing seeds of lies, stealing your victory, convincing you that God is not true to His word, doesn’t love you, is not faithful, not trustworthy, not kind, not the same yesterday, today & forever, doesn’t heal…but God has promised good to us:

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus".  Phillipians 4:19

His grace is sufficient for us. (II Corinthians 12:9

I Corinthians 10:13 …no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear up patiently against it.

He has promised us victory. "but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57).

God has promised that all things work together for good to those who love and serve Him faithfully ~Romans 8:28

Remember what Elijah said to the people?

Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.1 Kings 18:21

You cannot serve 2 masters.

Jesus pointed out But if your vision is poor, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Matthew 6:24

·      Thirdly, Before we can even begin to discuss healing & God’s sovereign power to heal we have to rectify our wrong thinking. We have to watch the words that come out of our mouths.  Do we speak life?  Or do we speak death?  With whom are we agreeing, Jesus, who declares life, or satan, who decrees death?

Take any item in the news & consider your belief about it. Earthquakes? Did God cause the earthquake? Road accident? God’s fault? Accidental drowning.  Shark attack. Volcano.  Terrorists. The world is full of horrible things but the truth is God didn’t cause any of them. They belong firmly in the realm of satan but we suffer the consequences of original sin in a fallen world because we gave the guardianship & ruling of this world to satan in the garden & even though Jesus took that back on the cross satan is in no hurry to give back what he got & if he can convince us that God is powerless we do not act with the authority & power that Jesus gave to His church.

The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. Proverbs 18:21

A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness in it is a breach in the spirit. Proverbs 15:4

Our words matter. Either we agree with what God says about us or we agree with satan. Satan is the liar, the accuser, the deceiver so if our words agree with his then we are speaking lies, deceptions & accusations about ourselves & others.

Do you begin to see how this works when it comes to healing?

"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. Habbakuk 2:4 And Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1

And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:13~14

When we believe God loves us & desires to give us good things; when we believe He is trustworthy & faithful; when we truly believe that whatever we ask of the Father in Jesus name will be done that the Father might be glorified we will speak words of life over ourselves & over others.

Now none of this is going to come naturally because our flesh is tied to this world so when a doctor tells us we have this that or the other our natural minds fall into agreement. We forget this is only a diagnosis & as citizens of another kingdom we have a higher authority & access to the Great Healer.

What do the scriptures say? "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7~8

We are to ask in faith that what we ask for will be given.  We are to ask in expectation that we will receive what we have asked for.  We are to stand firm trusting in the One who is faithful & trustworthy.

This is the foundation of our healing.  If we are amiss in our belief about God, how much He loves us & the authority we have as heirs of the Kingdom then we will struggle to walk in healing. We are to seek God’s Kingdom & His righteousness first.  The promise is that if we do that then all these other things will be given unto us.

Believer's Authority ~ Rabqa

Even though satan lost his authority on the earth the day Jesus
rose from the dead, for the past 2,000 years he's been running around like a spiritual outlaw-continuing to steal kill & destroy all who will let him. But he's not going to be able to do that for much longer. The day is coming when he will be put out of business. The day is coming when the evil he has done on earth will be totally underfoot by the power of God.


Most believers know that to be true. They have shouted & rejoiced over it-but they haven't really understood how it's going to happen. they haven't realised that they are the foot that is going to trample down the works of the devil.


Jesus is the head of the Church you & I are the foot, so we are the ones who are going to take His authority & power & stamp on sin & sickness & every other demonic thing on earth. We are the ones God is going to use Acts 2:35 says...Till I make Your enemies Your footstool. That is what Jesus was telling us when He said in Mark 16:15-18 Go ye into all the world, & preach the gospel to every creature...lay hands on the sick &...cast out devils. In essence what He was saying was
go & be My foot & all power authority had been given to Me, both in heaven & on earth. Therefore you take it to put the devil under.


But instead of obeying Him we've waited around wondering when God was going to do something about the mess on earth. We sit around wondering why it's taking Jesus so long to come back.


We are the reason its taking so long! Jesus is waiting for you & me. He is waiting for us to step out in His power, to put the devil in His place, & win the world. He is waiting for us to stop our silly doctrinal differences & get busy doing what God said we would do.


The Bible tells us How can one chase a thousand & two put ten thousand to flight. Deut 32:30 Every time we get together we increase our strength. If only we would just get together & find out who we are, we would realise that we are the feet of Jesus, then we would kick satan out of earth's affairs with ease.

If we want to hasten Jesus' return then we need to stop sitting around staring at the clouds! We must stamp around in the spirit. & Start putting the works of the serpent under our feet.

Gen 3:1-4 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

The serpent is identified in Rev 12:9 as satan himself. It is unclear why he chose to dwell in this particular beast which the Lord God had made.


Later the Old Testament lists the snake among the unclean animals (Lev 11) He is so cunning, crafty, & shrewd, for he said has God indeed said... "all this is not enough" suggested the tempter. "You could have more! The question was shrewdly overstated EVERY TREE?


The woman's response shows initial innocence, but the serpent caused her to ponder the matter.

This bold lie in Verse 4 could be translated Die? You will not die! In other words God has falsely threatened you with death.

Now we must not challenge God's Word. Ask instead What does God's Word mean to me? & How can I apply it to my life.

Man fell by Choice. The tempter is the father of lies (John 8:44), deceiving & seducing us to sin. The lie questions God's Word, giving our opinion absolute authority. Our opinions are easy prey to satan's deception.


Ps 18:37-38 tells us I have pursued my enemies, & overtaken them...they have fallen under my feet.


If you have been standing around wringing your hands worrying about what the devil is going to do, it is time you made a switch, it is time you put the him under your feet.


Jesus has already given you the power & authority you need to do it. He has given you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He's promised you whatever you declare locked on earth is locked in heaven (Matt 16:19) That means that
you can speak the Word & lose the angelic forces of God to work on your behalf.


Keys means authority. Through Peter a representative of the church throughout the ages. Jesus is passing on to His church His authority or control to bind or loose on earth.

The Greek construction to be bound & loosed indicates that Jesus is the one who has activated this provision through His cross, that means the church is charged to do what He has released through His life, death & resurrection.


The power & authority we have been given enables us to use the mighty Name of Jesus. A Name that's above every other name. A Name that will cause every knee to bow—in heaven, on earth & under the earth (Phil 2:9-10).


Don't waste time worrying about the devil. instead take authority over him. Bind the evil spirits that try to destroy your home, your church & your nation. Loose God's Word on the earth & enforce it with the name of Jesus.


You hold the keys. Learn to use them before long the devil will wringing his hands worrying about you.



John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.


The Greek word for abundantly is perissos meaning superabundance, excessive, overflowing, surplus, over & above, more then enough, profuse, extraordinary, above the ordinary & more then sufficient.


As you give your total self to God, God gives you His total self. That is the supreme message of the Bible. Inherent in God's total self of His own person is true. Bible based prosperity—the real possibility of healing in your total being (body, mind, emotions, relationships), all of your spiritual & material needs are met. Above all His prosperity brings eternal life. STOP & think about that. WHAT else is worth having?


Jesus said that he came to give life—not just an ordinary existence but life in fullness, abundance, & prosperity (3 Jn 2). On the other hand the enemy (satan) comes to steal kill & destroy.


The line is clearly drawn. On one side is God with
goodness, life & plenty of all that is necessary for life. (Joel 2:26 & 2Pet 1:3), & on the other hand is the enemy of our souls, who comes to rob us of God's blessings, to oppress our bodies through disease & accidents, & to destroy everything we love & hold dear.


Our first step toward experiencing full biblical prosperity is to believe that it is God's highest desire for you. Our next step is to line up our highest desire with His.


Considering how much the devil hates people & how dead set he on destroying them it is no wonder we see so much tragedy & disaster in the world. In fact it's amazing we don't see more.

I think it would be true to say that it takes time for the realm of darkness a long time to set up major disasters. For instance the aviation industry is highly regulated & works hard at policing it's self because safety is its product. You take a highly regulated system like that & the devil has to work hard to cause disasters.

He can't just come roaring in & rip up things any time he wants to. If he could, he would knock every plane out of the sky tonight but he can't.


Why? because he is bound. The Bible says he is bound to things that are common to man. (1Cor 10:13) he has to line up with things in this natural human realm before he can lay a finger on you. He has to use people to get his work done.


Praise God we are not bound to what is common to man. We are free to use what is common to God! We fight our warfare with uncommon weapons. That means that we ought to have the devil wrapped up. & we ought to put him in a sack with a ribbon on top.


The devil cannot cause disaster in our life unless he has been given place. He cannot come & start destroying & stealing unless he can get you to give him a place of sin, doubt, ignorance or disobedience. So if he has been giving you trouble ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you have let those things in. Then repent & get rid of them.


Once you have done that pull out the weapons God has given you & fire away with both barrels. Pull out prayer. Pull out faith & use them to tie the devil in knots. Use the uncommon power of God to keep him bound & he won't be able to put
anything over on you.


Eph 6:10- 18 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.


Paul admonishes us to put on the full armour of God in order to stand against the forces of hell. It is clear that our warfare is not against physical forces, but against invisible powers who have clearly defined levels of authority in a real way, though the invisible sphere of activity. Paul, however, not only warns us a clearly defined structure in the invisible realm. He also instructs us to take up the whole armour of God in order to stand firm. against this unseen satanic structure.


All of this armour is not a passive protection in facing the enemy; it is to be used offensively against these satanic forces.

Note Paul's final directive we are to be praying always with all prayer & supplication in the spirit (V 18). Prayer is not so much a weapon or even part of the armour because it is the means by which we engage in the battle itself & the purpose for which we are armed. To put on the armour of God is to prepare for battle. Prayer is God's Word which is our chief weapon employed against satan in our struggle.

Stand in readiness for spiritual combat. Recognise that the demonic enemies are behind what comes against you to harm you.


The book of Ephesians gives us insight to the nature of spiritual warfare we face daily. Our combat is against spiritual forces, not man. Great is the protection & resources God has provided to meet this enemy.



It is most important that we put on God's armour each & every day & to learn & understand of this divine protection.


* The belt of truth. Enables us to know the truth when we see or hear it.


* The breastplate of righteousness protects our heart from all condemnation in the soulish realm.


* Having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace means we can walk in peacefulness.


* Taking up the shield of faith quenches the fiery darts of the wicked one.


* The helmet of salvation protects our mind.


* The sword of the Spirit which is Gods Word enables us to wield that sword effectively against the devil & his cohorts.


* To pray with all pray & supplication (petition) in the Spirit for all the saints.


Ephesians 4:27 tells us to leave no place for the devil & not to give him any opportunity.


If you give him place he will take it. So you must stay alert & keep your shield of faith high because if you don't he will steal back from you the ground you just took.


There have been people that have received their healing & fallen back into their old thinking patterns of sickness. They let their faith shield down & gave the devil an opening. When he came along with an old symptom they were not ready for him. They fell victim to his counter attack.


You can stand successfully against devil's strategies! But before you do you are going to have to make three quality decisions:

1 You must make the Word of God the final authority in your life. Line up your thinking with whatever the Word says.


2 You must decide to live your life by faith in what
God has said. The Bible says Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of God. Rom 10:17


3 You must decide to live by the love of God because faith works by love. Without love, your faith wont function. Without the Word you can't have faith. So do not try to make one of these decisions without the other two. You need all three to make it work This lifestyle of the Word, faith & love keep you in a place of resistance to the devil.


John 15 7-11 tells us that when we abide in Christ our prayers are effective. We glorify God in our fruit bearing. We demonstrate our discipleship, & our joy becomes full through experiencing Christ's own joy with us.






Acknowledgement Kenneth Copeland.

Praying for Revival. ~ Ganeida

Technically revival is to impart new life to that which is almost dead.  In this sense you can only impart new life to that which once had life.  Thus you cannot revive a car that has no engine for example but you can revive a dying fire or a drowning man. 

Spiritual  Revival, in its truest sense, begins with the church because true revival is when God comes down & that becomes inevitable when God’s people get right with God.  This is not at all the same thing as the salvation of souls that have never been awake to the things of the Spirit.  However I believe the 2 things go hand in hand.  We are never going to see the great harvest of souls we envisage without the manifest presence of God in our midst because God is the One who gives life ~ & we are not going to have the fullness of God’s presence so long as we are not completely right with Him.

Oh, that you [Almighty God] would rend the heavens, that you would come down, that the mountains might shake at your presence. (Isa. 64:1)

When God comes down, things happen!  They happened at Pentecost.  God came down & the Holy Spirit flooded the city of Jerusalem.  Courage replaced fear; Humility replaced arrogance & 3 000 came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit when Peter preached.

Malachi 3:6 says: For I am the Lord, I change not…Don’t ever let anyone try to convince you that God is not the same yesterday, today & forever. Hebrews 13:8 says He is, therefore if we seek the face of God we have every right to expect that He will show up & great things, marvellous things, will take place just as the scriptures tell us they do. However the temptation is to seek what God can do for us rather than seeking God for Himself alone.  I, like many of you, have friends & family who do not yet know the Lord & I desperately want to see them come into the Kingdom but the scripture is clear:  Seek ye first the kingdom of God & His righteousness & all these things shall be added unto you. [Matthew 6:33]

So the First part of positioning ourselves correctly to receive the manifestation of God’s presence is holiness,  our understanding that having been called out of the Kingdom of Darkness into His glorious light we have been sanctified, set apart, reserved for God’s particular call & use of our lives for His purposes & none other. We have taught & taught on holiness because without it no~one can see God.[Hebrews 12:14]

The 2^nd thing is absolute Truth.
“For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth."  It matters to God who we think He is.  So much so that when the king of Assyria resettled the land of Samaria with foreigners after the Israelites went into exile the people complained they were being attacked by lions because they did not know how to worship the God of Israel correctly. ²⁷ The king of Assyria then commanded, “Send one of the exiled priests back to Samaria. Let him live there and teach the new residents the religious customs of the God of the land.” ²⁸ So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria returned to Bethel and taught the new residents how to worship the Lord. 2Kings 17:27 

Yet in Jesus time we find the Samaritans still had a muddled understanding of God John 4:22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews.

Holiness & Truth are important when it comes to praying for the salvation of others. Firstly we need to understand the truth of our position as a beloved child of God.

Ephesians 2:6 says: For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

Understand again that we are Christ’s body; He is the head.  The head & the body are one.  If we died to this life, our real life is hidden with Christ in God. [Colossians 3:5]Where is Christ?  Seated at the right hand of the Father. The right hand is the position of authority & rulership Romans5:17 says; For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Understand that we are to come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16

Never is there greater need than when we approach the Throne of Grace on the behalf of others & their salvation.  We remember the basic principles of prayer: to ask in Jesus name; to pray in faith; to obey.  We pray with expectation knowing that whatever we ask for in Jesus name will be done! John 14:13

We know the Lord’s will in this matter & that should give us great confidence when we approach the Father.

The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 2Peter 3:9

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 1 Timothy 2:1

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. Romans 10:1

When we undertake this work of striving for the souls of others we are closest to the heart of God for as David Livingstone said:

“God had only one Son and he made that Son a missionary.”

Let us understand once & for all that Christ was sent with just one mission ~ to save the lost. You don’t need to leave your house, your family or your country to be a missionary but you do need to do 2 things: get down on your knees & pray for the salvation of others & open your mouth to proclaim the good news to others.

We have Jesus example to guide & encourage us.  We have His example of teaching, preaching & healing but because we know the end of the story we tend to forget that Jesus laboured for His harvest in a very human way & you could not in all honesty say it was a resounding success. He preached to thousands.  He taught in the synagogue continually.  He performed miracles & healings.  He trained disciples to carry on His work but at the end of the day He was to be found weeping over Jerusalem. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let me. Luke 13:34 In the end not even his disciples stood with Him. I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message…John 13:16

I do not say this to discourage you. Rather you need Jesus vision. Isaiah 53:11 Of the labour of his soul he seeth -- he is satisfied,

The context is the cross. What Jesus sees is the salvation of the many He has come to redeem & He is satisfied. The Hebrew translated satisfied is  śâba‛ & it means to be completely sated.     So we are not to be discouraged.  When Jesus hung on that cross outside Jerusalem & suffered to bring us home to the Father He saw you & I coming into His Kingdom ~ & in our wake He saw all those we are labouring for now & has prepared us for this labour blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.[Eph1:3]&  By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. 2 Peter 1:3

That should greatly encourage us.  God Himself has prepared us for this time & has given us everything we need to bring in His harvest.  What’s more the gifts & callings of God are irrevocable! [Romans 11:29] What He has given He is not going to ask for back.

Now it may seem to you that I have not talked very much about praying for revival. This is not true.  We sometimes speak of a *bronze ceiling* in prayer, that state in which it seems our prayers bounce back to us unheard & unanswered & we experience no victory in our Christian walk. Disobedience & a lack of faith will commonly produce such an experience so it is important that we understand how to be effective in our prayers, praying from our position of authority as the sons & daughters of the Most High.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. [Eph 6:12]

Now I want to point out that heavenly is epouranios in the Greek & is referring to the upper regions of the air. So between us & the 3^rd heaven where God dwells there is a raging spiritual battle happening that we can’t actually see. This battle can hinder our prayers & it is one reason why we are told to walk by faith.  If we are right with God He always hears us & hurries to answer but His answers have to come through the minefield of the heavenlies so it is important we stand in faith; that we stay in faith; that we continue to believe because   faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews11:1

So to pray for the salvation of others is to partner with the Holy Spirit to accomplish the will & purpose of the Father.  We cannot pray amiss when we pray for another’s salvation because we have the Father’s word that He does not desire that any should perish. We have His command to pray for all people.  We have His promise that we have been given all we need to accomplish this task.

And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:15

We have Jesus example to guide us.  Go thou & do likewise!

Our Righteous in Christ ~ Rabqa

The definition of righteousness is: the ability to stand in the

presence of the Father without guilt & without the sense of inferiority as if sin never existed. Upright, right standing, justified, (declared righteous).


The Greek word for righteousness is dikaiosune, which means the character or quality of being right or just. The righteousness of God means essentially the same as His faithfulness, or truthfulness, that which is consistent with His own nature & promises.


Rom 1:17 & Hab 2:4...The just shall live by faith ~ or in other words the righteous shall live by faith. Shall live in the Hebrew is chayah means to to live, to stay alive, be preserved, to flourish, to enjoy life, to live in happiness, to breathe, be alive, be animated, recover health, & live continuously.

The fundamental idea is to live & breathe, breathing being the evidence of life. In the Hebrew concept. It literally reads "the righteous person in his faithfulness (firmness, consistency, belief, faith, & steadfastness) shall live."


Keys to righteousness:
1. Authority in the spiritual realm (In Jesus name). Righteousness makes us fearless in the presence of the enemy Eph 6:14 which talks about the breastplate of righteousness which protects our heart from condemnation-in the soulish realm.

2. Fellowship with the Father. 1 Jn 3:18-21...have confidence with God.


Base your confidence on the witness of the Holy Spirit & growing obedience in your life.


2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that God made Jesus sin who knew no sin. & made us righteous who knew no righteousness. Jesus took our sin upon Himself & faced the penalty of sin—death. We see from this that what we are made of isn't something we can work for.

Ps 117 Praise the LORD, all you nation Praise him, all you people of the earth. For his unfailing love for us is powerful; the LORD’s faithfulness endures forever.
Praise the Lord.


Though this Psalm is short it calls us to worship & finds it place in Paul's theology which includes the Gentiles in God's eternal plan. Rom 15:11

Mk 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need

This verse tells us why it it is important for us to be righteous. Rather then being preoccupied with material things our ambition should be to seek first God's kingdom & His righteousness knowing that as we do so, He has pledged Himself with covenant faithfulness to respond "all these things shall be added to you."


Some people look to the things but leave out in looking to Jesus & God as the head of the spiritual kingdom. We need to look to the provider—not the provision. Righteousness should be of being in a position as though we had never done anything wrong.


In Luke 15 we read about the prodigal son, prodigal means wasteful living. The fact that a penitent sinner pleases God more then a ceremonially correct Pharisee is quite evident in this parable.


When we accept Jesus, as Lord God the Father gives us a position with His Son Jesus & puts us in right standing with Him without working towards it, it is done through faith, the good news is that we have the same privileges as Jesus.

I said earlier that Jesus is our sin substitute, the story of our salvation is centred around Jesus. God knew that Adam & Eve were going to fall in the garden of Eden, so He had already planed that Jesus would be our redemption, the day Adam fell God spoke of the seed of the woman that would crush the devils head & destroy the power of sin in our lives.

 Gen 3:14-15
"Then the LORD God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, grovelling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

You are cursed carries the idea of coming under God's judgement. Although the exact meaning of the serpent's being cursed more then the rest of the animal kingdom is unclear. Paul later reinforces that all creation was affected by the fall (Rom 8:20-22)

On your belly you shall go does not imply that the serpent previously had legs, it is equally likely to be poetic language supporting the fact the animal kingdom will not be able to reverse it's post fall condition on it's own.

You shall eat dust is also figurative for humiliation. New Testament allusions to V 15 (Rom 16:20; Heb 2:14; Rev 12) seem to indicate that the curse of the serpent has broader application.

 Interpreted messianically, hostility represents the conflict between satan (your seed) & God's people, especially Jesus Christ (her seed means Jesus, the Son of God). He shall bruise His heel depicts the long struggle between good & evil, with God ultimately winning through Jesus Christ the last Adam. V 15 is often referred to as the first messianic prophecy of the Old Testament.

Only Jesus was able to accomplish what was essential for our deliverance. our redemption rest completely on what on what the Son of God did: * He took on flesh & blood, to become a man. * He lived a sinless life, never once to transgress as Adam did. * He died on a cross, to bear the penalty of our sins.

You may wonder why did God send Jesus in our place, why didn't He just overlook Adam's original transgressions & say, "well, that's all right, Adam; try not to let it happen again." Can't God do anything He wants? But the Bible says that God cannot deny Himself, He can't do anything that is not consistent with His nature. God is Holy! There is no sin of darkness in Him. If God had overlooked Adams sin, He would have denied His own holiness & purity. In short He would have come to the party of Adam's sin. In order to remain consistent with His own righteous nature, God had to be just when He justified the ungodly. He couldn't ignore Adam's iniquity. He had to deal with it in a righteous manner. The righteous penalty for sin is death. Someone had to pay that penalty. God redeemed us from sin justly by making His Son the punishment for sin.

 In Leviticus 16:5-10,15-22 we see that all animal sacrifices point to Jesus. They symbolise that Jesus would come & sacrifice Himself for our sins. God forgave iniquity under the old covenant on the basis of theses sacrifices, because He anticipated Jesus' death. The rituals themselves had no power to forgive sins.

Leviticus 16 describes the Day of atonement which is one of the most significant events in the Jewish calendar. This was the day on which the sins of the entire nation were dealt with. Two sacrificial animals were needed to complete Israel's cleansing for that year, each played a different part in the forgiveness & removal of iniquity. They used goats. The first goat was killed & it's blood shed for the forgiveness of iniquity. The second goat (called the scapegoat) was a sin bearer. When Aaron laid hands on it & confessed Israel's iniquity over it, God allowed the sin of Israel to pass into the goat. Bearing this iniquity, the animal was driven into the wilderness. What we learn here is what happened to these two animals graphically depicts what Jesus did on the cross.

 We see that there are two major aspects of His atoning death:

 1. Jesus shed His blood, so that our sins could be washed away.

 2. Jesus became our sin bearer. Blood is an absolute
requirement for forgiveness both under the Old covenant & the New covenant, under the old covenant, every
offering made for sin involved blood. If someone sinned he had to bring a sacrificial animal & kill it himself. unless the blood was shed there was no remission of sins. No one could be purified without it. God wanted the Israelites to be continually be reminded that sin results in death. Whenever a person sins someone has to pay the price, the penalty being death. Shed blood meant someone or something had died for the sin committed. That is why blood was so essential for forgiveness.

In Leviticus 17:11 for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the LORD. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible. God permitted the Israelites to kill animals, & look upon that blood as a payment for there sins. But He could only do so because He looked a head to Jesus' sacrifice. The blood of animals couldn't take away sin, it was merely a foreshadowing of the only thing that could truly cleanse us—The Blood of Jesus. 1Peter 18-19

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

The value of the human being can be inferred from the price to redeem man (Jn 3:16, Cor 6:20). God the Son the divine one through whom the worlds were created became flesh & died for the sins of humanity. That He willingly shed His blood & died for us reveals not only the value of human personality, but also the importance of salvation. Through Christ believers are forgiven, reckoned to be righteous, & by the New Birth are redeemed in image of God. Fallen men & women can only produce the works of the flesh. Only the Spirit by the New Birth can can renew that which was destroyed by the fall. (Jn 3:5-6). To reach highest human potential to have abundant life one must accept Jesus Christ by faith.

 The blood that Jesus shed signified that He gave up His life, the penalty for sin was inescapable. We were all doomed to die, eternally separated from the Father. But Jesus came to die in our place. His blood is the price that was paid to redeem us from the death-sentence that hung over us. God can justly forgive us on the basis of that precious blood, because Jesus' life was enough to pay our debt. The blood of Jesus is our receipt, showing that once & for all the price has been paid. It speaks for us in God's presence continuously saying: PAID IN FULL! - - FORGIVEN - - CLEANSED. That means nothing left out. No matter what the devil or our emotions may tell us, the blood is always speaking FORGIVENESS before the Father. But the work of the cross goes beyond the forgiveness of sins. Jesus not only shed His blood, He also BORE OUR SINS & iniquity of the entire world.

 Isaiah 53:4-12 Teaches us to believe that our sins & Iniquities were placed on Jesus the sinless Lamb of God. Choose to forgive others who have sinned against you. We may believe that if we sin we will be immediately aware of it; but sin is subtle, & our heart may not perceive or acknowledge our guilt. So those most in need of repentance & cleansing may have no awareness of their spiritual state, we must continually examine ourselves before the Lord, asking Him to enlighten our hearts to any unacknowledged sin & cleanse us from all unrighteousness. These verses also describe Jesus suffering. God caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Jesus, He didn't suffer for His own sin; for He was pure & spotless. He Suffered because OUR SIN was laid to His account. Jesus died on that cross at Calvary, bearing God's righteous judgement for all sin. We now understand that Jesus fulfilled what the sacrificial scapegoat symbolised, He bore our sins & died under judgement. Just as the scapegoat was banished from the camp, so Jesus was separated from the Father.

It was that iniquity that was upon Him that caused him to cry out on the cross "My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?" God righteously judged our sin by placing it on His Son, & judging Him. Only in this way could the Lord be Just in declaring us righteous. He overcame sin, when He let sin overcome Him.
2Cor: 5:21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. He overcame death when He let death over come Him. Rev 1:18 I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

He overcame disease when He let disease overcome Him. Pet 2:24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. He overcame satan when He let satan overcome Him. Col 2:15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

When Jesus died, you died with Him. Col 2:20 You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world... When Jesus rose, you rose with Him. Eph 2:5-6 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. I really like the way the Message Bible puts Colossians 3:1-2 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective. If you want to live the resurrection life that Jesus provides, then seek that new, powerful life by setting your mind & keeping it set on things above, not on things on the earth.

The apostle Paul is simply saying in these verses that if you & I want the good life, then we must keep our minds on good things. Many believers want the good life, but they passively sit around wishing for something good to happen. Often they are jealous of others who live in victory & are resentful that there own lives are so difficult.

If you desire victory over your problems, If you truly want to live the resurrection life, you must have backbone & not wishbone! You must be determined to have victory & refuse to settle for anything less then the best that God has for you. You must be active, not passive. Right action begins with right thinking. Do not be passive in your mind. Start today choosing right thoughts. Set your mind on things that are above & keep it there. AS we come into communion today let us thank Jesus for His faithfulness going to the cross He became sin, God placed our sin upon His one & only Son so that we may become righteous, We were doomed to die separated eternally from the Father Because of Jesus' faithfulness we now may live eternally with Him.