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Kingdom Now with John Carmichael The Theology of Provision 2 Corinthians 9

Full the full sermon series, Provider (July 2021) go to our YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/KingdomNowTV/videos

The NT theology of provision.

a. Amount of seed.

i. [2Co 9:6 NASB95] 6 Now this [I say,] he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

ii. You determine the level of receiving by your level of giving.

b. Attitude of giving.

i. [2Co 9:7 NASB95] 7 Each one [must do] just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

ii. Be purposed in your giving.

iii. God loves givers because He is a giver.

c. Ability of the Provider.

i. [2Co 9:8 NASB95] 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

ii. God is able

1. All grace – empowerment.

2. All sufficiency – no lack.

3. Every good work – abundance for others.

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Should I Use Commentaries?

In this episode of Kingdom Now with John Carmichael, we ask questions like “what are commentaries?” and “Why should I use commentaries?” 🤔

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First Running Post

I am a Christian. I am a husband. I am a father. I am a pastor. I am a runner.

I am not fast. I am not strong. I just run. My body does not look like a typical runner’s body. I am not tall or even lean. I just run.

I started running when I was a teenager. Most of the runs were at night. I had no idea what I was doing. All I did was run. I did not know what shoes to wear at the beginning. I did not know what form to use. I just ran.

As a result, I ran hurt. Every time I would run, it hurt, but my response was just to run.

Eventually, I was fitted in proper shoes. It helped me to keep running.

After I married, I stopped running. I got heavier. I got more unhealthy.

So at the age of 39, I started running again. This time, I got some knowledge. I learned about running form. I learned more about shoes. I learned more about training. I learned about nutrition. (Maybe, substitute the word “am learning” for “learned.”) Now, at near 50, I run pain-free 35 to 40 miles a week. I just run.

As with most things in my life, I asked God about returning to running. He spoke to me and said that it added balance to my life. My life was pretty much just ministry and work. Running provides benefits to my mind and my body.

Since my return, I have run numerous races. I have raced four full marathons (hopefully another in 2022) and more half-marathons than I can remember. I run for health. I race for fun.

I am no expert on running. I do read a lot about running. I listen a lot about running. I also run a lot.

From time to time, I will post various thoughts and information from others and sometimes from my own experience about running. It is not medical advice. It is just the thoughts and discoveries of a person who runs.

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Dreaming With God Book Review

Dreaming With God a book review by John Carmichael.

 

Bibliography

Johnson, Bill. Dreaming With God. Shippensburg. PA: Destiny Image Publishers, Inc., 2006.

Content

Johnson’s book presents the truth that humanity can and should partner with God to experience a change in our world. He does this in ten chapters, with each of the chapters presenting the application and scope of this truth. This review will not spend a lot of time detailing each of the chapters, but it will with chapter one. In chapter one, Co-laboring With God, Johnson seeks to establish a new kind of relationship with God. That would be a relationship as a partner or friend (24). He draws on John 15:15, where Jesus calls His disciples friends. This change in the relationship affects four areas of our life: what we know, our experience, our function, and our identity (25). He brushes by the topic of God’s sovereignty with the quote of Jack Taylor, “God is so secure in His sovereignty that He is not afraid to appear un-sovereign” (30).

The subsequent chapters seek to continue to underscore the point of the first chapter with varying nuances. Chapter two challenges the reader to be creative. Johnson pushes back on the prayer, “none of me, all of You” (37). The point is that God wants the believer to recognize and activate the gifts He has already placed in the believer. The third chapter is called The Value of Mystery. Here Johnson deals with various aspects of God that humanity cannot figure out, like the tension of “the Kingdom now, but not yet” paradigm (64). Chapter four is called The Language of the Spirit. This chapter identifies many ways God will speak to believers, including dreams, prophecy, and senses. He says, “Having the heart and ability to hear from God leaves us with an unlimited potential in resourcing earth with Heaven’s resources” (85). In chapter five, Invading Babylon, the reader is exposed to the scope of the world that needs to be redesigned. He lists the seven mind-molders of society (92). In chapter six, The Practical Side of Things, Johnson seeks to tear down the compartmentalization that exists when it comes to God’s priorities and ours. The point is summed in his declaration, “If it matters to you, it matters to God (111).” Chapter seven, The Spirit of Revelation, moves the reader to understand that a redesign of the world is impossible without learning to receive from the Spirit. In this chapter, there is a discussion on the focus on the Spirit and the Scriptures. He gives a list of suggestions for those wanting to grow in receiving revelation from God (132-133). Chapter eight, Celebrating the Living Word, is a continuation of chapter seven. This chapter challenges the reader to listen to the Holy Spirit, meditate on the scriptures, and “to shape our world through biblical declarations” (154). Chapter nine, Redesigning Our World, sums up the previous chapters and gives various applications of the precepts he presents. The final chapter, Pulling Tomorrow Into Today, is a challenge to the reader to use the concepts in the book with an eye on the future.

Evaluation

Johnson’s book, Dreaming With God, is not just a good read; it is a provoking challenge to believers to become a force to change the world with God. The reader will be hard-pressed just to read this book. It is a book that presents concepts and truths that are intended to be carried out. This book will not fill your head with information and theology. It will challenge the reader to expand their thinking and start putting the truths to work in their lives.

From a literary perspective, this book is true to Johnson’s nature. It flows like a fluid. It is not a structured book. There will be times that the reader is reading some excellent ideas but have a hard time connecting them to the point of the chapter or the book, for that matter. This is not to say that every concept and precept are disconnected from each other or from the book’s point; it just needs to be understood that Johnson does not make the connection for the reader.

Johnson believes in the continuance of the supernatural and of the gifts of the Spirit. The reader will need to understand that Johnson presumes the fact that God is still speaking and that the gifts of the Spirit are available for believers today. Johnson will challenge the reader to seek after things in the Spirit realm that are hardly talked about in mainline denominational churches. This book is not for the carnal Christian or the pragmatically focused Christian. Johnson marries the spiritual Christian to the practical Christian. The point is that the believer will need to be spiritually sensitive with the motive to activate and experience in the world what has been perceived in the Spirit.

This book will be a challenge to people who are suspicious of teachings on the supernatural. For instance, Johnson says, “The devil himself has not creative abilities whatsoever. All he can do is distort and deform what God has made” (43). One critic seizes upon that statement by calling it a “critical error” (https://discover.hubpages.com/literature/Dreaming-with-God-Bill-Johnson-book-review). The critic then lists several of the activities of the devil as listed in the Bible. This list is supposed to prove that Johnson, and all who believe in the current flow of the power of the Spirit, are “dangerous and wrong.” Johnson’s point is to describe that anything that Satan does is just a copy. He is not trying to say that Satan does not have power or abilities. The question that some have asked is, “where did Satan get his power?” While not wanting to open this theological “can of worms,” in short, that answer is from God. Satan is operating on residual power from God that he had when he was in heaven.

This is not a book of systematic theology. That is not a slam on the book. I do not believe Johnson intended to make this his theological thesis on every one of the precepts presented. For instance, there will not a comprehensive theological/historical/cultural discussion on the sovereignty of God in the book. What the reader will get is a summation of Johnson’s thoughts about the subject. His point is not to answer every question but to give the reader a mission to explore these concepts and then to activate what is revealed. Do not try to use this book as a resource to establish theological truths for you. I would compare this book to a prescription you get from a medical doctor, not a dissertation you would get from Ph.D. in medicine.

Readers need to understand the general concepts in this book are intended to challenge the reader to seek to experience God’s best. It will grow the reader’s perspective that God wants to redesign their world with them. New believers and seasoned saints would benefit from this book.

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Binding and Loosening Rediscovered

Binding & Loosing – rediscovering an important aspect of walking in Victory. 

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19 NASB“Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18 NASB

What is “Binding & Loosing”?
The Encyclopaedia Biblica (public domain) says, “Binding and loosing is originally a Jewish phrase appearing in the New Testament, as well as in the Targum. In usage, to bind and to loose means to forbid by an indisputable authority and to permit by an indisputable authority.”

One result of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the authority given to Christians. It is often called the “authority of the believer.” Simply put, when a person (any person) receives Jesus as Lord of their lives, they carry authority. This authority comes from God. It is born out of a person’s submission to Jesus Christ.

What good is the authority if you do not use it?
An illustration is important at this point. Say that a police officer sees a problem with a stoplight of an intersection. Chaos is resulting because the traffic light is broken. The police officer has the authority to do something. People would be justifiably upset with the officer if no action is taken.

Why are the people justified in being upset with the officer? The answer is because the officer is not using the delegated authority to help the situation. The authority is only useful if it is invoked.

When we bind and loose, we are releasing heaven upon the earth.
We release God’s Will (not ours) upon the earth. When we see anything that is not aligned with God’s Will on the earth, we are to “take authority” over it in the name of Jesus Christ. This would include sin, sickness, and satan (I purposely do not capitalize his name).

Here is a link to a scholarly article by Dr. Paul King that gives a history and theological foundation for this fundamental doctrine. I encourage you to read it. 

Are you ready to bind and loose?
Include “binding and loosing” in your prayer time. Even as you go throughout your day, bind sin, sickness, and satan in the name of Jesus Christ. Also, loose righteousness, healing, and angels upon the earth.

Let’s bring heaven to the earth.

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Authority to Heal Book Review

Bibliography

Blue, Ken. Authority to Heal. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1987.

Author Information

Dr. Ken Blue is the founder of Good News to the Poor, an organization that seeks to take the grace message and charismatic ministry to “the poor” in social-economic and spiritually poor places worldwide. He served as a missionary to Communist East Europe, where he was imprisoned, presumably for preaching the Gospel. He and his wife have started churches in Canada and the U.S. He does consulting work for businesses using Biblical principles of leadership. He also was a five-time All-American swimmer and selected to be part of the 1968 U.S. Olympic Training Team.

Blue earned a Doctorate of Ministry in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Masters degree in Christian Studies at Regent College, and a B.A. in Communications from Cal State Hayward. He has authored and co-authored others books, including Healing the Wounded and Healing Spiritual Abuse. Additionally, he developed training courses for businesses.

Content Summary

Authority to Heal seeks to provide answers to questions concerning divine healing and establish a Biblical model for ministering to the sick. The book is divided into three sections (1) Clearing the Ground of Theological Hindrances, (2) The Kingdom of God and the Fight to Heal, and (3) Beginning a Healing Ministry. Each of the three sections has distinct purposes.

The first section, “Clearing the Ground of Theological Hindrances,” seeks to remove the “weeds before planting the seeds.” By this, Blue addresses errors that hinder the divine healing ministry. There are four particular “weeds” Blue addresses. The first is “sanctification through sickness,” which believes that sickness increases sanctification in a person. The second is “Divine Determinism,” the belief that God causes all things, including sickness. The third is the “Faith Formula,” which says that faith is a strict causality of all healing and can be used as a technique to manipulate the power of God. The fourth is “The Secular World View,” which deals with the secular worldview that denies the supernatural, miraculous healing.

The second section, “The Kingdom of God and the Fight to Heal,” presents the theological foundation for divine healing. Blue establishes five significant issues surrounding the doctrine of divine healing. The first issue examined that supports divine healing is that God loves people and desires to heal their sickness in all areas, spiritual, psychological, and physical. The second issue for divine healing is that healing is a manifestation of the Kingdom of God overcoming the kingdom of Satan. The third issue concerning divine healing is that it is a fight and must be viewed as such. The fourth issue of divine healing is the importance of faith, not as the only cause-and-effect of divine healing. Still, that faith is significant and even determinative in some of the Gospel narratives. The fifth issue of divine healing is that Christians can expect to receive manifestations in the present and the future. He uses the “now and not yet” terminology.

The third section of the book, “Beginning a Healing Ministry,” establishes a Biblical model for ministering to the sick. Blue gives four considerations when beginning a healing ministry. The first consideration is understanding many models are effective when ministering to the sick. He next presents five steps in his ministry model. These steps are (1) interviewing, (2) choosing a prayer strategy, (3) praying for specific results, (4) assessing the results, and (5) giving post prayer direction. The next consideration in developing a healing ministry is to address the whole person: spirit, soul, and body (I Thess. 5:23). Finally, he presents the notion that Christians must obey the command to heal the sick and walk in authority.

Evaluation

The uniqueness of this book is its presupposition that God intervenes on behalf of sick people with healing. Yet, this presumption is not in the vein of many contemporary “word of faith” preachers. Blue even allows for mystery and a “now and not yet” version of attainment of healing.

Blue tackles the issue of the sovereignty of God with an outstanding balance in his use of the Bible and logic. He brings out some crucial points of the pastoral problems with the teaching that everything that happens, including sickness and death, is de facto God’s direct activity. He reveals that many situations are not a result of God’s Will but man’s choices. He even points to scriptures from Apostles Paul and Peter that indicate God’s Will for all to be saved, yet most will not (1 Tim. 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9 respectively). Yet, he does not in any way take away from the fact that God is sovereign. The book does not glibly approach the subject with simple answers to difficult situations. Blue even points out that God’s sovereignty does not cause sickness, but He does work within sickness.

Blue bravely tackles the sticky issue of faith when it comes to being healed of sickness. He cleverly calls out particular faith preachers within his discussions of faith without actually mentioning their names but does give titles of their messages. This reviewer laughed when one particular title was mentioned associated with a particular hero of the faith. Yet in Blue’s correction, he does give the most “faith preachers” the designation of being closer to the truth than others. While he says that a “faith formula” is not appropriate, he emphatically teaches that faith is vital when receiving healing. As stated before, Blue says that the Gospel narratives even point out that faith is often determinative.

Blue effectively points out that although healing is God’s Will, it is also part of a fight. He says that this fight results from God sovereignly giving freedom of choice and therefore allowing for its consequences. Man’s freedom resulted in sin, which allowed for sickness. So God works within the framework He set up to undo the results of sin. As it relates to healing, Jesus’ death and resurrection defeated Satan. The book makes a point that the crucifixion determined the result, but the war still continues.  This is compared to human wars where the fighting continued after the result had been resolved, as in D-day. Although Satan is stripped of his authority, temporarily, he still has an ability that will be stripped from him at the end of this age.

This book lays out the theological issue of obedience concerning the healing ministry. Very few Christians would look at the healing ministry as a point of obeying God. Blue poignantly presents the reality that many churches believe in healing yet do not practice a healing ministry. He tells a moving story of a young single mother who prays for the sick as a response to what Jesus Christ has done in her life.

A strength of the book is its commitment to giving more weight to Scriptural truths than to personal experiences. “When we want to understand God’s will, we should not try to deduce it from the circumstances of a fallen world. Neither should we form an abstract concept of God’s will from a non-biblical notion of divine sovereignty. Rather, we should look at Jesus, who is the explicit declaration of God’s will.” (Ken Blue. Authority to Heal (Kindle Locations 308-310). Another strength is Blue’s ability to point out the mystery surrounding healing. No one has all the answers, and no guilt should be put upon a person who deals with sickness. Arguably the greatest strength of the book is the five-step model of a healing ministry. Blue gives a willing participant the framework to begin a healing ministry.

The only weakness this reviewer sees is that there could be a more emphatic presentation of the alternative positions of his presuppositions. Calvinists are sure to have emphatic rebuttals. Blue’s bias is unashamedly presented. It does also seem that some of the points are underdeveloped.

Authority to Heal should be required reading for all who want to participate in the healing ministry. This book teaches a proper and balanced doctrine on the theology and practice of divine healing. More books need to approach the subject of divine healing like this one. Dr. Blue’s book presents divine healing as an effective evangelism tool that can be used to reach a spiritually hurting world.