Week Seven of Our Journey To Freedom Defeating Satan and This World

It makes total sense that the God who created us can also heal us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Our creator God is our Great Physician as well. We should thank God for His restorative power and never hesitate to ask Him for His healing touch whenever we are hurting. In the scriptures, waiting on God is one of the open secrets to receiving His goodness and presence. Spending quiet time with God is the humble opening to God Himself. In the connected quiet, God downloads upon us the things we need.

Transcript

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Welcome to Walking in the Living Word Ministry, a weekly podcast with your host, Pastor Mike Futrol.

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Thank you for joining us this week for Walking in the Living Word Ministries. You know, we're on week seven, halfway through our journey to freedom, defeating Satan and this world. Our song this week is Healing Now by Katie Nicole. And again, at the end of the video, we'll post a link so you can listen and hopefully purchase it. You know, it makes total sense that God who created us can also heal us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Our creator, God, is our great physician as well. We should thank God for his power to restore us and never hesitate to ask him for his healing touch whenever we're hurting. And that's not just physical hurts, that's emotional, spiritual, mental, any of that. In the scriptures, waiting on God is one of the open secrets to receiving his goodness and presence. Spending quiet time with God is the humble opening to God Himself. It's a place of access to His power, love, faith, grace, cleansing, direction, and even more hunger and holiness. In the connected quiet, God downloads upon us things we need. It's also a time of recharging our heart with the power of heaven. In the language of the New Testament, the time of the early church, waiting on God was one way to stay filled with the Holy Spirit. Time spent in silence, waiting before Him is the fuel God uses to make us burn brightly for him. It fuels the heavenly fire within us. However, this waiting does not make sense to the natural mind. One of the main benefits of quiet prayer is the quieting of the mind. And the mind does not like this. Boy, can I testify to that. Our minds do not appreciate the things of God, for they are spiritually understood. The things of God are not the things of this world. And the ways of God are not the ways of this world. In God, the simple things bring the biggest benefit. Things you would do naturally, and your heart was right and you hungered for him. Simple things like spending time with him, not because you have to, but because you want to. Yes, our heart may want to, but we still have to make ourselves do it. The devil does everything within his power to stop us from doing this very thing. He can use every distraction, social media, TV, uh anything in the world, our phones, anything to distract us from spending time with God. Galatians 5.17 says, For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep us from doing the things you want to do. The first step to healing is prayer. We take time to establish a prayer life and build a relationship with God. The second step of healing is our faith. We have to believe God will heal us in his time and in his way. We have to trust and believe that God is in control, that the only way that can happen is to have a relationship with him. Being hurried is the deaf to prayer. The main reason we do not hear from God is because we simply do not wait long enough to hear from him. God will not speak to us as we run through life or keeping thinking about our phone or other things in time. He wants you to sit and listen. He wants us to care enough about you. He wants us to stop, wait, and listen. The busyness of the world and its distractions are the complete opposite of godly waiting. Quiet wait is a work of the heart and not of the head. And receiving healing, or for that matter, receiving anything from God, faith is the deciding factor. Jesus says many times, your faith has made you old. You know, the scriptures are clear on this. But without faith, it's impossible to please him. For we for he that comes to God must believe that he is God and that he is a rewarder of them that directly seek. You know, I I I heard uh a guy today say that uh in you know in the story in the scriptures where the man came and asked Jesus to uh heal his son. He came with belief. You know, even though his belief was weak and he he wasn't really sure uh he had the faith, he came believing that Jesus could do it. And he he you know he said, uh make my faith uh better. Make me strong. I believe, but make my belief even stronger. You know, Hebrews 11:6 states, and without faith is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly ask him. You know, this is a foundational verse, emphasizing that faith is essential to a relationship with God, requiring both belief in his existence and confidence in his character as a rewarder. So, what are the key aspects uh parts of Hebrews 11:6? First, you have to believe that God exists. The initial step is believing that God is real. Second, your faith is necessary for pleasing God. Faith is not just a concept, but a requirement for a relationship with God. Third, you have to believe in who God is, is part of his character. God is not distance, but is a rewarder for those who differently seriously seek. Fourth, what is the contents of faith? The passage highlights that faith is the evidence of things hoped for and the proof of things not seen. Fifth, faith is action-worthy. The verse implies that faith requires action, drawing near or coming to him rather than a passive belief. So, what does faith mean as we the way God sees it? Faith, not feelings. God wants to be dependent on our faith over belief, emotions, or physical presence. Uh being diligent, being constant, committed, means to zealously seek for something with all one's God's one's heart, strength, and might. It converts the idea of being hardworking, devoted, active, busy, steady, effort in seeking him. And we are precise in our devotion to what he or she we are doing. In other words, we are not, this is not a casual interest. We we put a lot of effort into it. We just don't say it and just sit back, and but we do our part also. God is a rewarder. God's reward is found in Himself, His presence, grace, eternal glory for those who seek him. So, what are the five core characteristics of faith often cited, including trust, assurance, obedience, action, determination, endurance, love, relationship, humility, surrender, highlighting that faith isn't just belief, but energetic, lively, active, committed to God that involves trusting his promises, acting on his word, enduring challenges, fostering a loving relationship, and submitting to his will. So, what kind of faith pleases God? First, a humble dependence on God, recognizing that he is the source of everything, everything that we need. Second, we approach him with an open heart because we recognize him as the sovereign Lord over all. And third, we trust God to keep his word. Together, these three simple steps represent the type of faith that pleases the Lord. Faith, the Bible says, comes by hearing. If you need something from God, get the scriptures out and study them on the subject. Meditate on them and get down inside of you. Get them down inside of you. Then wait silently before God. Focus on Him, not on things around you. This is one way we can diligently seek God. This greatly pleases Him. He is faithful and He will answer. Many times a faith, a faith problem is a hearing problem. And a hearing problem is a seeking problem. It takes effort to receive faith, and waiting on God is part of that effort. This is God speaking to me. My hope is He will speak to you as well. I am a God who heals, He says. I heal broken bodies, broken minds, broken hearts, broken lives, and broken relationships. My very presence has intimate healing powers. You know, you cannot live close to me without experience some degree of healing, he says. However, it's also true that you have not because you ask not. You receive the healing that flows naturally from my presence, he says. Whether you seek it or not, just being near to God, his grace flows onto you, where you ask for it or not. But there is more, much more, available to those who ask. God says the first step in receiving healing is to live ever so close to me that I became part of you. The closer we get to God, the more he becomes part of us. As your relationship grows deeper, and the purpose with God, he will reveal his will to you more directly. With the time is right, he will prompt you to ask for healing of some brokenness in you or another person. The healing may be uh continuous or it may be a process, it may be a slowly daily place. This is up to God. Your part is to trust him fully and to thank him for revealing that begun. God rarely heals all the brokenness in a person's life. Even his servant Paul was told, My grace is sufficient to you. When he sought healing for the thorn in his flesh, nevertheless, much healing is available to those lives or who are interwoven with God's asking, you will receive. James 4 2. You desire but do not have. So you kill. You covet, but you cannot get what you want. So you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. In Matthew 7 7, that asking it will be given to you. Seeking you will find. Knock and the door will be open. God asks for us to come to him for understanding, since he knows far better than what ourselves. God says, I can comprehend you in all your complexity. No detail of your life is hidden from you. God views us through his eyes of grace. So don't be afraid of his close private awareness of our life. We need to trust him enough to accept the fullness and the fullness of his forgiveness that he offers to us continually. It's not a one-time and done deal. This great gift, which cost his son's life, is yours for eternity. Forgiveness is at the very core of his abiding presence. He will never leave you or forsake you. Rejoice in the one who understands you completely and loves you perfectly. As he fills you with his love, you become a reservoir of love, overflowing into the lives of people around you. You know, James 1, 6 through 7. But he must ask in faith without doubting. For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord. How do we apply Hebrews 11 6 to our lives? We actually believe God exists and rewards seekers by putting God first in our lives, by seeking Him nonstop through prayer and study, by trusting His promises over feelings, living in a life wholeheartedly faith, not just religious routine, by expecting His blessings as we pursue Him daily. It means trusting God in all circumstances, not just when things are easy, but align your will with his will, which pleases him and brings rewards like wisdom, strength, and healing. So how do we practice these steps? First, we have to believe that God exists and he rewards us. Secondly, we earnestly seek him, not just when we need him. Thirdly, we develop a lifestyle of faith. Fourthly, we act on our belief. We have we're called to have faith in God and God's healing power. It is through believing wholeheartedly that we can access God's marvelous touch in our lives. When we ask for healing, we do so with confidence and assurance that God hears our prayers. We engage in an ongoing relationship with our Creator, where our faith is evident in our request. Knowing that God is a healer gives us strength and encouragement to us to reach out for his assistance, trusting in his willingness and love and mercy. God tells us that through prayer, he can speak to us and use us to work miracles for his glory. When you say a prayer for healing, you're coming to God completely suspended and expected to let the Holy Spirit work through you. Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed. Save me and I shall be saved. For you are my praise. Jeremiah 17, 14. We need to understand that by praying for healing, we are knowledge and our dependence on God. During these conversations with Him, we experience peace that surpasses all understanding. When we pray in community, our collective faith multiplies the impact that leads to meaningful outcomes. So as we close today, we reflect on the top of asking for help. It's important to remember that God is our ultimate healer. When we can approach Him with faith, trust, and hope, confidence that He hears our prayers. Each scripture from God's holy word reminds us of the incredible power of prayer and faith without our throughout our healing journeys. We can rely on our loving community of fellow believers for support and encouragement. We also need to remember the promises God has set forth for our well-being. Healing may come in various forms and at various times. And we're encouraged to remain steadfast in our request while believing in God's perfect time. You know, as we continue to look at breaking those chains from Satan and the world to set ourselves free, we need to realize that God is our source to break those chains. So I'm glad you joined us today. I hope you will continue joining us through this journey over the next few weeks. And I hope it helps you to break the chains that are holding you back from your freedom. Again, thank you for joining us with Walking in the Living Word Ministries, and we look forward to seeing you next week.

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Thanks for joining us today on this edition of Walking in the Living Word with Dr. Mike New York. We pray that you do pray that we do.