A Life Well Loved

Last week, I wrote about the connection between divine health and having a prosperous soul. At the time, I never anticipated that one of the most prosperous souls I have ever known, my father-in-law, Dr. Primo Roxas, would quietly slip into eternity on Saturday, October 19, 2013.

My father-in-law was like a second dad to me, always positive and encouraging. His own early life had not been easy. Born into a large family in the Philippines, he put himself through medical school and immigrated to the United States as a young man. He was dedicated to his profession as an anesthesiologist, but was able to maintain a healthy balance between his career, his marriage and his family.

Somewhat unusual for his generation, Dad valued and respected his wife's career as a pediatrician as much as he did his own. Together they made a comfortable living, but rather than amassing wealth, Dad put his resources to work blessing others. He helped numerous family members immigrate to the United States, made sure his own four children and all of his grandchildren were able to obtain college educations, and took the extended family on wonderful vacations.

He had many interests outside his professional life that he pursued with enjoyment. He loved fishing, playing cards (especially bridge), traveling, music (he played the ukulele and piano), and was always up for trying new foods. “Mom” was the love of his life. They were competitive square dancers and married nearly 60 years this December.

Dad's relationships were characterized by honesty, integrity and respect for others. He was generally an even-tempered person who readily forgave an offense rather than nursing bitterness or anger. His attitude toward challenges in life was positive and he was an ongoing source of encouragement to those around him.

He successfully battled two bouts with cancer and in the end simply died peacefully without illness or suffering. In remembering him this week, one way I could best describe him is “a life well loved.” He loved all of us, but he loved his own life as well, and we all certainly loved him.

Proverbs 13:22 states, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children.” Dad left his family and friends with a rich legacy of wonderful memories, opportunities for education, travel, life in a new country, and the example of a prosperous soul.

Father God intends that each one of us should have a full, abundant life overflowing with love and blessings. It is a life characterized by a prosperous soul that avoids strife and envy and keeps short accounts with anger. Father God tells us: “Do not harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, you find disorder and every evil work.” (James 3:14, 16) “See to it that no one misses the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness grows up to cause trouble.” (Hebrews 12:15)

Current medical research confirms that physical, emotional and social stress all have a negative impact on our health. We need to follow Father God's instructions for a prosperous soul. I encourage you today to decide to live a life well loved.

Please join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM when our own Pastor David Oh will be speaking on “The Believer's Authority and Healing.” Don't forget our healing service that begins at 2:30 PM on Sunday.

Pastor Che

Beyond Healing

It's a beautiful summer's day at the beach with a light wind, perfect for sailing. As you look out over the marina, you see numerous sailboats taking advantage of the conditions. You notice one sailboat that appears to be having difficulty. In the bow of the boat several people are bailing water furiously, while in the stern, a man with an axe appears to be chopping a hole! As fast as the people can bail the water out, it is rushing in. They are keeping the boat afloat, but just barely!

I think anyone watching this scenario would agree that someone needs to address the man with the axe, not just keep bailing the water out. In ministering healing to people, I frequently see “returnees.” These are people who have received healing of one condition and are now returning for healing of a different condition. They are like the sailboat bailing water. They need more healing, but lack understanding that they can live in divine health.

Through the life of Jesus Christ, Father God demonstrates that His will is to provide healing for us. However healing is not His ultimate intention. He wants to give us something beyond healing, something that is much better, and that is a life of health. God established this desire when He promised Israel that if they would follow Him He would make their lives disease-free (Exodus 15:26). His plan was that people would enjoy perfect health all their lives.

Now you may be thinking, “What about growing old? Everyone seems to have some health issues as they grow old.”

You certainly are stating modern day reality, but Father God has always intended a better life for His children, a life of divine health. For example, Caleb was one of the 12 spies who originally went into Canaan when Israel came out of Egypt. He trusted God's promise and believed that Israel could conquer Canaan, but was overruled by 10 other spies who thought the task would be impossible.

Father God maintained Caleb's health and strength so that 40 years later, when he was 85, Caleb was as strong and fit as any young man. Scripture says that he was able to fight like any young warrior in taking the land of Canaan (Joshua 14:10–11).

Okay, we've all heard of someone who is older who isn’t aging like other people; but in the end you have to die of something, don't you? Actually, no, you don't. Although we all must die at some point, Father God wants to make this transition easy. The death of Moses is an excellent example of how God wants His children to leave earth and come to Him.

When Moses was 120 years old, God told him that it was time to leave earth. We are told that Moses’ vision was not dim and that he was still physically strong. So strong that he climbed a mountain where God gave him a glimpse of the promised land of Canaan. Then Moses quietly breathed his last. He wasn't sick. He didn't suffer. He simply left earth and entered the spirit realm.

There's more emphasis on healing in the church today, and more people than ever are getting healed. But I think it's time we understand there's something better beyond healing, and that is walking in divine health. The apostle John prayed for this understanding when he wrote, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” (3 John 2)

Come join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM when we will consider what it means to have a prosperous soul. My sermon is “Healing and a Prosperous Soul”. You are also invited to attend our 2:30 PM healing service.

Pastor Che

Feelings Aren't Free

I still remember it like it was yesterday. I had just finished teaching at a conference and asked people who needed healing to come up for prayer. A middle-aged woman was there in obvious pain. She moved stiffly using a walker and her hands were twisted.

Through tears, she explained she had suffered from arthritis for many years, seen many specialists and tried many medications, but the arthritis only got worse. She voiced conviction that God's healing power was available to her through Jesus Christ. I put my hands on her shoulders, began praying and immediately felt the power of God being released. But just as quickly, I felt it return to me. It was as if it hit a brick wall and bounced back.

I was puzzled. Here was a woman who obviously wanted to be healed and voiced a belief in healing. Why wasn't the power of God penetrating her? Sometimes I feel led to ask people details about their illness. I was curious, so I asked: “When did the arthritis first begin?

Her expression immediately changed from sadness to anger. “It was 12 years ago. The worst year of my life! I found out that my husband had been having a long-term affair with his secretary and shortly after that I got the arthritis.”

Through clenched teeth she started to tell me about confronting her husband and the extreme hurt she had felt. Her anger was so intense that I asked her, “Have the two of you been able to resolve that situation?”

“Heavens no!” she replied. “He died 8 years ago of heart disease and good riddance! I hate what he did to me and I hate him!”

Suddenly the mystery was solved. She was encased in a wall of anger and bitterness that now held her prisoner. There was no doubt in my mind it was blocking her healing and may have even been instrumental in causing the arthritis to begin with. I briefly explained to her the need for forgiveness and how to renounce her anger and bitterness.

I led her in a short prayer of forgiveness and she relinquished the anger she had held against her husband for so many years. I prayed again for her healing and she began smiling. “There is less pain!” she told me. During the next few days her condition continued to improve. By the end of the conference she was walking confidently unassisted.

That encounter has remained a vivid one for me, but it is not isolated. In praying for the sick over many years I have learned that negative emotions like anger, resentment, and bitterness can actually hinder healing. The feelings may be connected to very real wrongs we have suffered, but we don't have the luxury to indulge in them. When it comes to healing, feelings (negative ones) are not free. They carry a high price tag often paid in physical suffering. This is equally true of negative feelings we have about ourselves such as guilt, shame, self-pity, self-condemnation, etc.

If you are suffering from a long-term illness, or have sought prayer for healing and have not had a breakthrough, ask yourself if you are holding negative feelings against anyone, including yourself. If you are, I invite you to forgive the other person (or yourself) and release the negative emotions. You can do this on your own or you do it with a friend who can agree with you in prayer. Don't wait a day longer to free yourself from costly negative feelings!

Please join us at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM this Sunday when my good friend Cindy Jacobs will be our guest speaker. Please remember our 2:30 PM healing service every Sunday.

Pastor Che

Thy Kingdom Come

As I travel internationally, I get asked the same questions repeatedly about healing. People acknowledge that Christ spent a lot of time healing the sick in His ministry, but wonder does God still want to heal everyone today? People question if someone can be too old to expect God to heal them. Is God concerned with “minor” problems like a sore throat or bunions, or does He reserve healing for “serious” illnesses like cancer and heart disease? Can a person be “too big a sinner” to be healed? What about illnesses that are self-inflicted? For instance, will God heal lung cancer in a lifelong cigarette smoker?

My answer is always the same. I direct the person to the prayer that Jesus Christ taught His disciples, commonly known as the Lord's Prayer. It says, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Although widely known and repeated by many people, it's true meaning is often not clearly understood.

God's desire is that His kingdom would invade Earth with the same conditions that exist in heaven. There is no sickness or disease in heaven, whether minor or major. Father God wants to set humanity free from all the disastrous results of our fall into sin. That includes healing every type of physical problem as well as healing emotional hurts, relationship problems and mental disorders. Anything that does not belong in heaven, God wants to eradicate here on earth.

When Jesus healed all who came to Him, He was demonstrating the reality of God's kingdom coming to earth. If we want to understand how God wants to work in the world today, all we have to do is look at the ministry of Jesus. We never read that He refused to heal anyone, regardless of what type of sickness or disease they had, how old they were, how much they had sinned or how they acquired their illness. Over and over again we read, “and He healed them all.” Jesus put no qualifiers of any type on healing.

And in case His disciples thought that healing was something reserved for Jesus’ ministry alone, He commanded them to go into all the world preaching the good news of God’s kingdom to everyone, and to lay hands on the sick and they would recover.” (Mark 16:15, 18b)

In fact, while most people regard “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven,” as a request made in prayer to God, it actually is a command. In His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus restored to humanity the dominion on earth that we lost to Satan in the fall. He told His disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him and commanded them to go in His authority and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18–19)

So actually, when followers of Christ pray the Lord's Prayer, they are commanding, “God's kingdom, come! God's will in heaven be done on earth!” Healing the sick is one sign of God's kingdom invading Earth.

Does God want to heal everyone today? The answer is a resounding YES!  Thy Kingdom come!

Please join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM as we continue our current series on “Healing the Sick.” I will be speaking this week on “The Kingdom of Heaven and Healing.” We also invite you to attend our 2:30 PM healing service every Sunday.

Pastor Che