A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


April 14, 2017

The Biblical Model For Inner Healing

   
     In the ministry that the Lord has brought to me and my husband, the hardest thing for us to convince Christians of is that Jesus can heal their emotional wounds. The Bible tells us that we are body, soul, and spirit. In fact, we are primarily spirit living in this temporary shell called our flesh, or body.  Our soul consists of our mind, will, and emotions.
     Living Stream Ministry gives us the Biblical proof of this last statement. Proverbs 2:10 gives us the spiritual ground to prove that the mind is a part of the soul. This verse says, “Wisdom will enter your heart, / And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” Because knowledge is a matter of the mind, this proves that the mind is a part of the soul.
     The second part of the soul is the will. Job 7:15 says, “My soul would choose,” and 6:7 says, “My soul refuses.” To choose and to refuse are both decisions and functions of our free will. These passages prove that the will must be a part of the soul.
     Emotion comprises many things, including love, hatred, joy, and grief. Psalm 119:28 says, "My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word." and Song of Solomon says, "Tell me, O you whom my soul loves...", both proving that emotions are also part of the soul.
     When we allow Jesus into our heart, and confess that He is our Savior, our spirit is sealed with the promises of the Holy Spirit. Our spirt cannot be possessed by anyone other than God. But our soul -- the thoughts in our mind; the decisions we make; and the emotions we feel and express -- can be influenced by the Enemy and often result in oppression and bondage.  But Jesus says, in Luke 4:18-19, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord".  He came to set the captives free ... those who are oppressed in their minds, wills, emotions, and flesh by demonic spirits. He came to heal those areas and experiences in our lives that the Enemy exploits in order to keep us from the peace of God in our relationship with Him.
     That is what the ministry that the Lord has brought to me and my husband is all about -- partnering with the Holy Spirit to let individuals see Jesus (in those hurtful memories) and allow His love for them to heal the wounds that have affected their lives.  You see, if you think salvation alone makes you immune from the Enemy's attacks, just walk into any Church and look behind the masks of those who come to the building each Sunday seeking relief from self-esteem issues and thoughts of self-rejection or abandonment; from decisions they have made in their past that still haunt them; from feelings of jealousy or hatred; and from chronic ailments that keep their flesh in torment.  Do you think they possess the peace that "transcends all understanding"?
     And even if this makes logical sense to some Christians, and they can begin to believe that Jesus not only wants to heal their inner wounds, but actually can heal them, they need to see it in Scripture to fully accept this Truth.  Well, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, who showed a Biblical model to my husband, I can now present that proof to you...
     We all know the Scripture that tells us of Peter's denial of Christ.  Between Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22, we get a clear picture of Peter denying his association with Jesus three distinct times; first with a simple denial, and then with an oath, and lastly by cursing and swearing.  And the last sentence in that chapter tells us of the deep remorse and self-condemnation he must have felt ...  And he [Peter] went out and wept bitterly. Can you imagine how that must have weighed upon Peter in those ensuing days?  How many times he went over in his mind the prediction that Jesus made, that he would deny the Lord, and how he had claimed he would never fall away? I can only assume the guilt and the shame he must have felt .... and the legal authority that those three denials gave the Enemy to torment him.
     But something must have happened in order that Peter could become the effective Kingdom spokesman and evangelizer we see in the Book of Acts.  Those condemning thoughts, those fateful decisions he made to deny Christ, and the extreme feelings of remorse (his mind, will, and emotions; his soul) had to be healed. Jesus did exactly that, and we have the Biblical proof in John, Chapter 21.
     After Jesus is resurrected, he appears before His disciples after they've spent a night fishing. When they discover Jesus standing on the shore, Peter is overcome with emotion and "threw himself into the sea".  He was in such need of being healed and forgiven that he couldn't wait to be in the presence of his Lord.  And what does Jesus do?  He builds a fire on the beach, feeds them a breakfast of fish and bread, and then begins to minister to Peter's wounded soul.
     In John 21:15-17, we see Jesus resetting the scene that has caused Peter so much torment and oppression -- even right down to the fire which was present at his denials.  Just as Peter was asked three times if he knew the Lord, Jesus now brings healing to Peter by getting him to voice his love for the Lord to the spirit world and break the oaths and curses he took.  Jesus asks him three times if he loves Him -- the first two times, using the Greek word agape, meaning the "love" that values and esteems; an unselfish love, ready to serve.  But Peter answers, that he loves Jesus, using the Greek word, phileo, meaning that he cherishes Jesus above all else; that his love his constant and from the heart. So that by the time Jesus asks Peter the third time if he loves Him, using the more heartfelt word, phileo, Peter's answer in the affirmative [for the third time] has cleansed his wounded soul.
     Remember, Jesus is appearing to Peter in the Spirit, just as He does in our inner healing sessions.  Individuals are able to see Jesus in the spirit, and Jesus then expresses His presence with them [just as He was with Peter] and helps them to "reset the scenes" of their wounding experiences, accepting His love and forgiveness, and displaying to the spiritual realm that the person's tormented soul is no longer in bondage to the lies of Satan. They have met with Jesus and been released from the lies and captivity of the Enemy.
     It couldn't be any clearer.  Jesus speaks into the hurtful experiences that allows the Enemy to send spirits of shame, guilt, anger, self-rejection, etc. to keep Believers from a complete and whole and healthy relationship with the Lord.  Just as with Peter, Jesus desires us to be free of the torment so that we can become the effective ambassadors of His Kingdom that His sacrifice won for us. When we are free of all the lies and garbage the Enemy tries to inflict upon our souls, we can all become like Peter, fearless and bold for the Lord!

Hebrews 12:1-2   "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God".




       
     

5 comments:

  1. You just opened my eyes again. I never saw this before in this way. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't our God amazing?!? And thank you, Holy Spirit, for continuing to reveal the magnificence and magnitude of our Lord Jesus Christ!

      Delete
  2. This is an amazing view of Jesus doing what we are called to do. Thank you so much for your insight and for sharing. LJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All the glory goes to the Holy Spirit! And to a husband who has ears to hear what the Spirit brings him.

      Delete
  3. I am so thankful to have this kind of blog which gives a lot perspectives about inner healing process. This was so significant from what Pastor Chris preaches to the people.

    ReplyDelete