Tuesday Nov. 22, 2011 Healing 2

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Good Tuesday Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. It is a great day here at the Southern Location of the North Pole and home of Carry The Light Ministries and the Ministry Food Pantry. Prayer requests in from Ruby for sight and hearing, also from Vicki for a friend's child of six years old who they are thinking might have cancer. Before I forget, tomorrow, on Salvation Wednesday, we will be having communion so bring your bread for the body and your juice for the blood when you sit down at your computer, and I challenge you to share the communion with a friend at work. Now a praise report, a really big praise report.

On Friday evening I was blessed with being able to sing with the original Couriers, Dave, Duane and Neil, and then they had a love offering gathered for our ministry food pantry... $231.00 dollars was collected. Yesterday we found a sale on potatoes, as last week there was a buy one and get one free for five pound bags at 3.99 a bag. Yesterday we found ten pound bags for $2.29 per bag. Now we are expecting about 100 families to pick up food on December 17th. So with the help of Ministry Partner Grant Crockett we headed out to purchase a THOUSAND POUNDS OF POTATOES. And yes, the sale was real, the potatoes were top shelf Green Giant brand and we got 100 ten pound bags for 2.29, meaning we had 2 dollars of the love offering left over. Then yesterday, old Santa fired up his oldest bus (our Eagle is waiting for a part) and we went to St. Joseph School in Mechanicsburg where the children gathered food to give to Santa for the food bank. So Mrs. Claus and I arrived again with our ministry partners Grant and Wanda and I did my Santa thing and we sang and had fun. Then the older children started to bring forth the food they collected... and they came and came and came. The luggage bays on the bus, all of them, were filled to a point they would hold no more... One of the hardest things to get is cereal and they collected that for us. While the bus was being loaded, I stood and cried, real big tears... GOD IS GOOD, ALL HONOR AND GLORY TO GOD... AMEN...AMEN AND AMEN.

Healing, Day 2. James 5:13 - Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise hi up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (NIV)

As we talk about anointing with oil and praying for the sick to be healed, often we get asked, do you think your prayers will really cause God to heal people? And my answer is yes, yes, yes. And it is in these verses in James where we get the authority.

Just so you know, as I believe in the direct healing from God, I also believe that He uses people here today to help in His mission of healing. Doctors, nurses, medical people of all walks in life work in the healing of bodies and minds of others, and many are on a direct mission from God. There are others, and some of them we see on TV who have been giving the direct healing message of the Lord. While I do not believe in the showmanship of many of those, I do believe that some have been giving that healing touch from God, healing touch, the ability to touch others in the name of Jesus to be healed. The big thought here is in the name of Jesus. Do I have that gift? I don't know, but I sure do believe in praying and praying and the laying on of hands for healing. If I would have that gift I would also, as I do now, give all the praise and glory to God.

Here is a passage that might make you understand where I am coming from...

From 1 Corinthians 12:27 - Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having GIFTS OF HEALING, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all profits? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have the gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts. (NIV)

In our bodies we have many parts making up the body, and it is the same in God's church, one church, many bodies forming the parts of the church. And in our local churches, many people, and each should take part in the church, a pastor cannot carry out all of the duties of a church, and I think he must be free to be a pastor, or to take care of his flock. It takes many workers. Many helpers and many more to pray for them. Tomorrow, more on healing and please start praying now for our healing and communion service on Thanksgiving Eve. Let's pray now.

Dear Father, in the blessed name of our Lord Jesus, I come to you asking for you to heal baby boy Noah from cancer, a young girl, whose name we have not received as of yet, for healing from cancer. For Ruby for healing of her sight and hearing, and for Dolores to have her knee healed. For Grant to whip his mind clean of the battles left from Viet Nam in his mind. Please, Lord, clear his mind of those things, help him turn them over to You. In the name of Jesus, we give all honor and glory for all the food coming into our little food pantry that we operate in Your name. Thanks for bringing in a person last night who need food and prayers. Lord, we love You very, very much, and we give thanks for this day and we would like to give it back to You by living to please You and sharing Your word to others. In the name of Jesus I ask for help for this and for the forgiveness of my sins... Amen

Now go forth sharing your blessings, sharing the love of God with others, and living not just this day but everyday to please Jesus... and remember Communion tomorrow... love ya, Pastor Dan.