2008 © # 3
All scripture taken from KJV unless otherwise stated
THE TRAINING OF THE TWELVE, BLUEPRINT FOR THE CHURCH-
Part 1
When Jesus Christ came to this earth, he came as a man on a mission, John 3:16. That mission was not only to save mankind from Hell, but to get back for mankind what was lost in the Garden of Eden, Luke 19:10. Too many people have been taught that God is only for the hereafter, and Christianity is only a Heaven and Hell issue.
Friend, nothing could be further from the truth! Some people are living right now, in a Hell right here on earth. Jesus came not only to deal with the hereafter, but for the here and now as well. He came to bring us life and life more abundant, John 10:10. He came to save us not only from Hell, but from this present evil world as well, Gal.1: 4. In part 1 of this teaching, I will be dealing with the importance of the preaching of the full gospel with the supernatural power of God in evidence. In part 2, I will show from scripture, how a believer is not only to preach with the supernatural power of God in evidence, but to be living this life in the realm of the supernatural.
This present life we now live on earth, was by no means Gods original intention for his creation which he called man. If you want to see Gods perfect intention for man [kind], visit the first few chapters of Genesis before Adam and Eve were banished from Eden. That will show you a glimpse of the good things he had in mind for us all .
Do you know that after God created the earth, he then gave it over completely to mankind to rule over? Psalm 115:16, Gen. 1:26 That is quite an awesome God we have. Talk about spoiling your children !! Did you ever give your kids the world as a gift? Oh, God is such a good God! The bible tells us that every good and perfect gift is from above, James 1:17. That is the God I have known for some 26 years.
Jesus, having been sent by the Father John 3:16, to save us not only from Hell, but to also deliver us from the powers of darkness, and bring us into a life lived in the realm of the Kingdom of God, Col.1:12-14. Jesus went about everywhere proclaiming this good news [gospel] of the Kingdom of God, and gathered disciples along the way. Those he chose ,would then continue on with the mission God had given him. This ministry was to continue, right up until the day appointed by God for the restoration of all things upon the earth to be fully completed, Acts 3: 20-21, and the entire world would ultimately become the kingdoms of our God, Rev.11: 15. What a glorious day that will be!
In light of these wonderful things, a very important question needs to be asked: How was Jesus Christ able to take 12 ordinary uneducated men, Acts 4:13 and turn the world upside down with the message of the gospel, and yet today, we have thousands who profess Christianity and seem to accomplish so little? How can this be? What are we doing wrong?
It is unfortunate, but in some cases, one can hardly tell the difference between the world and the church. I am astounded at how many Christians including leadership, have turned to the world and its wisdom 1Corn. 1:20 , in seeking answers to the problems they face in life . Some churches have now turned to offering entertainment to people in hopes to fill their pews. Others, are looking to the experts, for various strategies they can use to successfully build their ministry and fill their churches. Was this what Jesus had in mind to further the gospel of the Kingdom? Is this really New Testament Christianity?
Too many in the church have permitted human reasoning, to override following the written word of God in the Bible. This practice has cost them dearly, and robbed them of their spiritual heritage in Christ, rendering them powerless and ineffective, against the powers of darkness that Jesus came to defeat, Col. 2:15. The devil has hoodwinked a lot of Christians, including Christian leaders. Deception, is what the devils game is all about, and unfortunately, there is a lot of it in the church today, 2 Corn. 4:4.
Instead of the Church going forth with the full gospel of the Kingdom in all its miraculous power and glory as demonstrated by the Lord Jesus, it has in many places, went forth with a powerless, weak, and partial form of the gospel.
Please allow me to make a very important statement here; The word of God is the will of God! Believers are told in the Bible, to follow the Bible, 2Tim. 3;16. There is a clear blueprint in the New Testament that needs to be followed by every born again, Spirit filled Christian. That blueprint was laid out for us by Jesus Christ himself.
There are actually some ministers who have taught their people, that healings and miracles could only be done through the hands of the Jesus and the 12 apostles, and when the last apostle died, all miracles and healings have now ceased, and passed away. Good heavens! The Bible does not teach any such thing! The Bible gave us a blueprint and records not only 12, but 83 disciples going forth preaching the gospel, healing the sick, as well as working miracles, in exactly the same way that Jesus did it.
Please look carefully at these following verses of scripture;
- In Mat. 9:35 Jesus went forth, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God and healing the sick.
In Mat, 10:7-8 he sent out the 12, preaching the gospel and healing the sick .
In Luke chapter 10 verses 1, 9,18-19, Jesus sent out 70 more believers preaching the gospel and, healing the sick as well as giving them power and authority over all the power of the devil ! Paul the apostle, as you will see a little later, brings the count up to 83!
Then, in Mark 16:15-20, Jesus now sends forth ALL BELEIVERS and instructs them also ,to combine preaching, healing, and miracles as well. Here we find a company of disciples without number, being told to go forth with the same blueprint as the original 12! Keep in mind, that if you are a born again believer, these instructions are for you as well. Friend, wherever the full gospel of God is being preached, God will confirm it with signs and wonders following, Mark 16:20 . Jesus and his disciples [all 83] not only preached the gospel, but they all demonstrated the gospel of the Kingdom of God, by healing the sick and other miracles. In scripture, it never separates healing from the preaching of the gospel, and we should not separate it either.
Some may not be aware of this, but the word gospel in the Greek simply means, good news. In light of this, this is actually what the Bible says; They went forth preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God.
It was actually the Kingdom of God that they were preaching about. I will get into this more later.
Let me show you something I found to be very interesting .
To reaffirm once again that healing and salvation are a part of the gospel, look up these following words in the Greek Concordance of the New Testament, and take note of their meaning; salvation, saved, save. You will find that in the Greek, these words mean; deliverance, rescue or safety, heal, protect [literally or figuratively], do well, defender, save, health, to be [ make] whole.[ the word made whole in KJ language, is referring to healing of the physical body ] .
Let me give you an example using a verse of scripture : Lets take the word saved that I mentioned above . This word saved, used many times in the New Testament is often the Greek word sozo. This same Greek word sozo, is also used in scripture to denote physical healing of the body. We find this word sozo being used in Mat. 9: 20-22,” Behold, there was a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood for 12 years and came up behind him [Jesus ], and touched the hem of his garment ; for she said within herself , if I may touch his garment, I shall be whole [sozo] . But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith has made thee whole [ sozo] And the woman was made whole [ sozo ] from that hour……… This same Greek word sozo, is also used in Mark 28:5, 25:3,Luke 8:36,and Acts14:9 to denote physical healing of the body.
Sometimes it is used in a verse and is talking about salvation, other times, the same word is used in a verse and its speaking of physical healing of the body. That is why in the Bible, you will always see preaching the gospel and healing the sick combined; because healing is part of the gospel.
In a future teaching, I will be showing from scripture that physical healing is included in the atonement of Christ and is available to every single born again believer .
Here is another interesting fact to consider on preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing the sick. Paul the apostle who was also called Saul , was not one of the original 12 apostles of Jesus. There is actually no record in scripture that Paul the apostle, ever even met Jesus Christ while he was here on earth in the flesh. Paul’s conversion took place on the road to Damascus, after our Lord’s death and ascension into Heaven, Acts 9.Yet in scripture, we see that Paul the apostle, also followed the blueprint of Christ and went forth preaching the gospel and healing the sick, Acts 14 :8-10. Why? For the same reason as the other 82 did. It is part of the gospel. Paul even clarified the importance of the combination of preaching the gospel and healing the sick when he said; I did not come to you preaching with clever speech, but with the demonstration of the power of God so that your faith does not rest in my words, but in the power of God, 1Corn. 2: 1-5.
Lets not forget, Mark 16: 15-20 says, all believers are called to go forth preaching the gospel and healing the sick .
So, why are some Christians and churches ineffective in the world today as witnesses for Christ? One reason is because, they are not following the blueprint that Christ laid out in scripture for the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, some have been mislead by the teachings in their denominations. Others have just simply made up their own way of bringing people to Christ. Many Christians in the church including ministers, have allowed human reason and logic, to override the written word of God in their lives. They cannot control or understand the supernatural power of God, so they simply reject , what their minds cannot fully grasp and understand.
Tragically, others who profess to be Christians, vehemently oppose the supernatural power of God being demonstrated by believers, to such an extent that they become as the Pharisee’s in scripture, who opposed the miraculous works of Jesus Christ to the point of contributing them to the works of the devil himself, Mat.12: 22-32.
So that we would not be easily shaken, Jesus warned us that this same persecution that he received, would come to us as well when we had Gods supernatural power in evidence in our lives , Mat.10:24-25.
Many Christians have never learned how to walk by faith, so they depend completely on their senses and reason for all direction in life. The scriptures tell believers that we are to live by faith and not by sight ,2 Corn. 5:7. We are called to be led by the Spirit of God, and not by reason, Rom. 8:14, Prov. 3:5. Living any other way will only rob us of our God given authority in Christ, and leave us wide open to the destructive powers of the enemy that Christ came to defeat, John 10:10 !
Do you know who the robber is? Jesus tells us exactly who this thief is; it is the devil, John 10:10. He works and accomplishes his mission by simply deceiving all of mankind, 2Corn.4:4 . All of his work is accomplished through deception .
Think about these questions; are Christians not called in scripture the body of Christ, with him being the head of that body? 1Corn.12:27, Eph. 5:30. Is not Christ [ body] supposed to still be doing the same thing today that he did when he walked this earth in the flesh? Has Christ changed ? No ! The scriptures says ,Jesus Christ remains the SAME, yesterday, today and forever, Heb.13:8. Are not Christians told in scripture to be Christ like and follow his example ? Yes ! Did it ever occur to you that the same Jesus that is living within you wants to do the same things he did when he walked this earth?
Dear brethren, the Bible teaches that if you are a born again believer, and have the Spirit of God in you ,then you have Christ living within you ,Col.1:27,2 Corn. 13:5 . You are the temple of the Holy Spirit where God dwells, 1Corn. 3 :16. Will you dare to believe it ?
The word of God is pure truth, John:17:17 . The Bible will prove itself over and over again, but only to those who will dare to believe it, and act upon it !
Will you choose to believe what you feel, or what someone else has told you to believe, or, will you dare to believe what the written word of God says to you, and about you ?
I am not talking to you about relying upon any power of your own to accomplish these things. Heavens No! We have no power of ourselves to change anything. I am talking about the power of God working in and through you just like he worked in and through, the other 83 disciples recorded in scripture.
Don’t let human reasoning, or church traditions; rob you of your heritage in Christ. If you are a born again believer, you are an heir of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, Rom. 8:17. Begin to believe it !
The church will only be effective in changing this world for Christ, when we do it according to the blueprint written in the word of God, as demonstrated by Jesus Christ himself. Jesus said, the works[ miracles] that I do, shall you do also! John 14:12.
Until the church [Christians ] gets back to its New Testament roots ,it will have very little impact in this world. Christ’s blueprint is the only blueprint for the Christian life, without it we will remain and live like those who are lost and without hope in this world .
Friends, take a step of faith, and step out with God into his world of the supernatural. Decide today, that the word of God will be finale authority in your life; regardless of what anybody else has to say about it. If it says, you are seated with Christ in heavenly places, then believe you are seated with Christ in heavenly places, Eph. 2:6 .If it says, you shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover, then believe you shall lay hands on the sick and they will recover, Mark 16:18.
Faith, is the only way to please God, Heb.11:6, 2 Corn. 5:7.And faith is the victory that will overcome all things, 1John 5:4 . We must first believe, then God will bring it to pass and you will see it ,Mark 11:23 . The having ,comes after the believing.
I will continue this in Part 2.
Blessings, Julia 
This teaching may be printed out for reading but must not be altered in any way
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