The True vs The Counterfeit / Bethel & The New Apostolic Reformation (Mark 16 - Part 3)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. We are to believe the miracles recorded in scripture. So, I believe, without a doubt, I believe that Moses parted the Red Sea.

Well, don't you think that's just an allegory? Isn't that just a story? No, I believe the Israelites walked through the midst of the waters with a wall of water on either side. You know why I believe that?

Because the word of God tells me that. I believe that Jesus fed the 5 ,000. I believe that Jesus fed the 4 ,000. I believe the apostles spoke in other tongues. And I most certainly believe in the resurrection.

So, every Christian, no matter where you are in your Christian walk, these are the miracles we are required to believe in. Now, the miracles that the guy on TV is talking about, you know, that's not the same as stuff recorded in scripture.

I think we all recognize that. I don't doubt that God works in miraculous ways today, but I think there's a lot of times that we were probably this close from danger. Something bad was really going to happen.

Someone prayed and we avoided it. But we would never necessarily know. I think that type of thing does happen. Here's one thing I am concerned about. There's a lot of ministers today who rip the Bible out of context.

They make promises to people that God never made. You know, there's a lot of people that are sick. There's a lot of people that are desperate. There's a lot of people, they feel like they're always going to have this pain in their body.

There's just no hope for me. And then they see some man of God on television who promises them a miracle, promises them healing, if you would just send in your donation. My friends, that is spiritual abuse.

It's spiritual abuse. And then when it doesn't happen, they feel like God let them down. God didn't let them down. That man just made a promise that he shouldn't have, that God didn't make. You know, God always comes through, doesn't he?

Anyone who's been walking with the Lord any amount of time, you know that God does come through. Maybe not the way you expect or the way that you would like him to come through at the moment, but God always provides.

You remember Job, when Job went through his suffering and people, his friends said, Job, it must be your fault. Just like Paul, when he got bit, he must have done something. That's the way people think.

Was Job to be blamed? Was it his fault?

No.

Or when the Apostle Paul suffered from his thorn in the flesh, few men had more faith than the Apostle Paul. Paul prayed to the Lord three times that it would be removed. Did God remove it?

No.

Rather, in 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9, the Lord said to Paul, my grace is sufficient for you. For my strength is made perfect in weakness. You know how the Lord grows our faith? By putting us through trials.

By putting us through these times of testing. You know, if you are feeling that, you're being pruned by God and it can be unpleasant. But these are the moments, oftentimes, when we grow the most.

Amen.

Amen.

It's true.

Maybe instead of praying for a miracle, and if you want to pray for a miracle, ask. You know, maybe God will say yes, but what if he says no? If he says no, maybe we should pray for peace. Maybe we should pray to the Lord, Lord, give me peace in my heart that I can endure this.

Lord, give me strength that I can persevere. Lord, grow me into the person that you want me to be. Maybe that should be our prayer, rather than asking God to get us out of every bad situation or to Lord, Lord, don't allow me to suffer.

Life here on earth includes suffering. Let's turn to Isaiah chapter 53. Another thing that people will teach, I believe erroneously, they will teach that physical healing is provided for in the atonement.

Many of these TV preachers that I referenced, this is one of their main arguments, that Jesus died on the cross to make you whole. Now, if somebody were to say that to me, I wouldn't argue with that, or that there is healing within the atonement.

I mean, that's true, but what they're saying is there's physical healing in the atonement. So if you believe you should expect a miracle, you should expect to be delivered from this suffering. There's a new movement out there, very popular, it's called the NAR.

Who's heard of the NAR, the New Apostolic Reformation? Well, that's a little misleading because it's not new. People have been teaching this kind of thing for a long time. It's not apostolic because none of them are actually apostles, and then it's not really a reformation, although it is a very popular movement.

It's being led, perhaps the most prominent church is a church named Bethel out of California. Much of the popular Christian contemporary music that you hear on the radio, much of it is being put out by Bethel music.

Here is what they teach. Their leader says that he refuses to create a theology that allows for sickness. Let that sink in. I refuse to create a theology that allows for sickness. This is the idea that it is never God's will for a person to be sick.

I know some of you know better than that, but not everybody does. There's something in us that kind of wants to believe that, right? And here's their claim. They say this is biblical. Look at Isaiah 53 verse 3.

I do not want to be disrespectful towards people who believe this way. But the question is, is this what the Bible does actually teach? Isaiah 53 verse 3, talking about Jesus. The prophet Isaiah is prophesying of Jesus some 700 years before he lived.

He is despised and rejected by man. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

Yet we esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. And the chastisement for our peace was upon him. And here's the statement.

And by his stripes, that is by his wounds, we are healed. By the wounds of Christ. What he did on the cross. By that, because of that, we are healed. And as they see, we are healed. That means physical healing in this age.

Well, if you compare scripture with scripture, Peter quotes this. 1 Peter chapter 2. And he identifies this as teaching being forgiven of sin. And having died to sin and live for righteousness. As Isaiah himself wrote, Jesus was wounded for what?

For our diseases? Well, I mean, it says he was wounded for our transgressions. He died for our sins. And this salvation, what does it do? It does bring healing, doesn't it? It brings, first, spiritual healing.

The Lord Jesus Christ, he can heal your spirit. He can heal your soul. Our flesh, though, our soul has been saved. Our spirit has been saved. Our flesh remains unconverted. You understand that? Your flesh is not saved.

Your flesh is not converted. In your flesh, you're that same person that you used to be. That old man, that old woman, that old sinner is still in there and you're dragging him around everywhere you go.

Scripture says we are to mortify the flesh. Put to death the deeds of the flesh. Paul in Romans 7, 18 says, In my flesh, no good thing dwelleth. That's what the most righteous man on earth probably at the time said.

In my flesh, there is no good thing. So Jesus, he saves our soul. He saves our spirit. We are on our way to heaven, but this corrupt flesh is still here. Our flesh needs to die. This is why Christians get sick.

It's not because they're not saved or because they don't have enough faith. Christians get sick and Christians die. All of these faith healers die. Everybody dies. Why do we die? Because the flesh remains unconverted.

The flesh does not get saved until Jesus comes back at the resurrection. When our body is raised from the dead, that's when you are saved in that ultimate sense and your body is delivered. So is there healing in the atonement?

Yeah, there's spiritual healing right now. And there will be physical healing when our bodies are raised from the dead. You know, the older I get, I don't know about you, but I don't share this much, but I suffer chronic pain.

I have chronic stomach issues. For me to wake up in the morning and feel good, it's pretty rare. This morning I woke up and I felt pretty good. I said, praise God. So the older I get and the more pains I have, it went from my shoulder now to my neck, and I don't know what that's about.

But that's sort of the daily thing with me. Do I think God is punishing me? I don't think that's what's happening. Is God not coming through so I should just give up because God's not taking away all my suffering?

No, I just understand that one day all of this is going to go away. The older I get, the more I'm looking forward to that resurrection body. Some of you know what I'm talking about. So in conclusion, should Christians expect miracles?

I realize I'm not going to change people's minds. Most likely I'm not. But primarily the ability to work miracles and the miracles that happen, the clear miracles in scripture, which I believe in all of them, primarily they were done by the apostles and their associates.

So Jesus' words in Mark 16, it all came to pass in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. So in conclusion, until then, if someone is sick, if you want to pray for a miracle, I prayed for a miracle last night.

I woke up, I felt better, but I was not fully healed. Because I realized when I say, Lord, take this away, I realized it would be a miraculous thing if he did. So I'm not saying don't pray for miracles.

If you need a miracle, pray to God, ask. He might say yes. He might say no. He may say, wait. But one thing I know that he does say, he says, trust me. He says, my grace is sufficient. Here's the guarantee.

First John chapter five, verse 14. Bring your requests before God and he will answer them according to his will. Not based on what I say, not necessarily even what you want. He will answer every prayer according to his will.

It says, now this is the confidence that we have in him. That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. You believe that he hears us?

I do.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I just ask that if there's someone here today who has never placed their faith in Jesus, if there's someone today who in their heart, they know that they have sinned against a thrice Holy God, I pray that today you would bring that spiritual healing and save their soul.

The Lord, if there's someone who is saved and they are dealing with a variety of different things, whether it's physical pain, emotional pain, and sometimes emotional pain can be just as bad. Just as real.

Father, I pray that you would give them comfort. I pray that they would realize, whether they pray for a miracle or not, whether they get a miracle or not, I just pray that you would bring healing to their spirit and that they would recognize that all the things you've done, but Father, we do pray for the sick and the suffering.

We do ask for relief, but whatever happens, we trust in you, we love you, and we know that you loved us so much that you sent your only begotten son into the world to die on a cruel cross, that we might spend eternity with you.

We thank you for that so very much.

It's in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscoronetchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.