"Between the Word and the Cure"

"Between the Word and The Cure"

" ... There met him ten men that were lepers which stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.'  And when he saw them, He said unto them, 'Go shew yourselves unto the priests.'  And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God.  And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks  ...  And Jesus answering said, 'Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?" (Luke 17:12-17)  What were the lepers doing "Between Jesus' spoken Word 'of Go show yourself' and the Cure?"   

Showing oneself to the priests was a common practice "AFTER THE CURE."  When Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests, it was already done, before the lepers ever moved, but it was while they were "going" that they were healed.  Healing and miracles always require an "action of faith."  Remember the man with the withered hand, and Jesus said, "Stretch forth your hand."  Then, the man who was blind, and Jesus put mud in his eyes and then asked him, "What do you see?"  What about when Peter told the lame man, "Take up your bed and walk?"  

What happens "Between the Word and the Cure?"

"Thank You!"  ...  That's when it is Done!

Jesus Christ and the ten lepers

Why should we wait to give thanks until we "see" the cure?  Why do we wait until after the financial blessing is in our hands before we "Thank Him?"  What stops us from Giving Him Thanks while our child is still sick?  You say, "What; that's crazy?"  Is it?  We might get a whole lot more blessings, quicker, if we lived in a posture of "thankfulness."  This is a growth step in the maturity of "Faith!"  Should we go around thanking God for all kinds of things that we absolutely do not see manifested?  Why not?  He deserves our devoted thanks for the healing, the deliverance, the blessing, the mortgage payment, the miracle, the return of the husband or wife, the runaway teen, the long-awaited job, and the salvation of our family  ...  Why?  Because it's already Done!  When Jesus said His last words on the cross, "It Is Finished."  It Was!

The Ten Lepers Crying Out To Jesus

We live far below the "miracle line" in Jesus Christ.  Jesus Christ  expected Peter to walk on the water when He said to him, "Come."  And, Peter DID walk on the water for a moment, until he realized he shouldn't be doing that  ...  it was not scientifically possible.  What if we are supposed to be "living" in that impossible realm?  That realm of "in earth as it is in heaven."  You say, "I don't know what in the world you are talking about!"  Uh huh; it's absolutely beyond reason; it's unheard of; it's not possible to pray over someone and raise them from the dead; it's not possible for a tumor the size of an orange to just disappear; it's not reasonable to say "Thank You, Lord, before it happens  ...

It's easy to say Thank You AFTER the fact, but before?  ...  when the pain's still there, when the lump is still protruding, when we're still rolling in the wheelchair, when we're staring the surgeon in the face, when the foreclosure notice is still in our hands  ...  when  ...

    Thank You, Lord, that I have no pain, that you

    made a way where there was no way, that my

    body is whole.  Thank You, Lord, that You said,

  Before I call, You will answer!  Thank You, Lord!

Jesus Christ "Between The Word and the Cure"

I'm reminded of a time when I was working and I was feeling an "unction" of the Holy Ghost to go to the hospital and pray for people.  It was the middle of the workday, and I really didn't have leave time to take off, so I prayed and asked the Lord to make a way.  Suddenly, there was a ringing of the bell to evacuate the building, and they told us to go home, because they couldn't figure out the problem.  A friend, and fellow believer, and I went to the hospital and prayed for people up and down the halls.  Afterward, I had car trouble, and my friend got out and started walking around the car thanking God for more than an hour, not prayer, only "Thanks," hands raised, shouting thank you to the Lord unashamedly, and loudly, right in the middle of afternoon traffic.  It was quite a spectacle to people zooming by and honking, but to God, it was "Thankful Faith."  To make a long story short, help came, money came, a person came out of nowhere and the car problem was taken care of, and it should have cost several hundred dollars, but I did not spend a penny to fix it.  I observed a valuable lesson that day.  What happened?  It was the God-moving "Thanks" that occurred "Between the Word and the Cure!" 

We are living in miraculous times.  You say, "I don't see any miracles."  I see them every time someone is filled with the Holy Ghost, every time someone in my church is healed of cancer, every time a diagnosis is suddenly changed, every time  ...  Maybe we need a lot more to occur "Between the Word and the Cure."

A Lot More Of What?

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)