NOTE: This Class contains material from the books, “The Physiology of Faith – Fearfully and Wonderfully Made To Live and Prosper In Health,” and "Living Forgiven – Building Upon the Foundation of All Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual Healing" Copyright 2015 Craig A. Nelson
CLASS 1
Introduction
I. God is Love
II. Developing a Great and Intimate Relationship with God, the Father
CLASS 2
III. Developing a Great and Intimate Relationship with God, the Son
IV. Developing a Great and Intimate Relationship with God, the Holy Spirit
CLASS 3
V. What Causes Sickness and Disease?
VI. God wants To Heal His People
VII. For The Glory Of God
VIII. The Relationship Of Faith and Healing
CLASS 4
IX. The Physiology of Faith
CLASS 5
X. The Physiology of Faith Continued
CLASS 6
XI. The Fear Factor
XII. Breaking the Fear Cycle
CLASS 7
XIII. Exposing the Roots of Fear
IV. Pulling the Roots of Fear
Conclusion
ADDENDUM
The Healing Ministry Of Jesus
INTRODUCTION
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40 NIV)
The Great Commandment is the foundation for this seminar. If you desire freedom from fear, this commandment must be restored to the first position. You need to understand the dynamics of your relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to do that. I have touched on just a few of the incredible blessings a relationship with God brings. By learning about God’s character and nature, you will discover how to fulfill this commandment and, in turn, learn how to love your neighbor as yourself.
If you are going to live a life flowing with forgiveness to everyone with whom you come in contact, you must realize that the battles you fight are spiritual and should not be directed toward another human being. Instead, they should be directed against the forces of hell because your “struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12)
When you fight against another, you are not fighting against the one at the root cause of battles. The church, throughout history, has wasted time and energy with doctrinal battles and church splits—fighting against people rather than the root cause. There are even “Christian” radio talk shows that point out the faults and inconsistencies of other people and the weaknesses of their ministry.
You can have the right doctrines and beliefs and still be wrong in how you "defend the faith." Fighting against one another will never help spread the message of the cross. Only by living a life flowing in forgiveness will you spread the message the world will be willing to hear.
I. God Is Love
A. God’s very essence is love. (1 John 4:8)
He has always been love, even before He created and loved you. He has always sought to have a close relationship with us. You see this truth taught throughout Scripture, beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden and in the book of Exodus when Moses climbed Mount Sinai to commune with God.
It was high on a mountaintop where the Lord spoke to Moses and commanded him to tell the Israelites:
"This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” (Exodus 19:3-6)
God proved He is love by sending Jesus to walk among us and die in our place. God reached out to us in the most intimate and personal way. John the Beloved shows us in 1 John 3:1-10 that as a result of what Jesus did, we can now, as His children, experience how great the love of the Father is. The wonder of what that means has not yet been fully made known.
“But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3)
Now that we are His children, we can no longer continue to sin in God’s eyes because His seed, His very essence is now in us. This means that we can’t go on sinning because we have been born of God.
1. Living a life flowing with forgiveness is the distinguishing mark that lets the world know who the children of God are.
—as well as who the children of the devil are!
2. If we do not forgive and seek reconciliation with those who have wronged us, and love them freely, then we are not doing the very thing that proves we are truly children of God.
In 1 John 4:7-21, the Apostle John encourages and challenges us to love others.
John writes: “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love”.
Because He has loved us so much, we have been “Born of God,” so “we surely ought to love each other.” “No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us”.
John also tells us that if someone says they love God but hates a Christian brother or sister, “that person is a liar; for if we don't love people, we can see, how can we love God, whom we have not seen? (1 John 4:7-21 NLT)
II. DEVELOPING A GREAT AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, THE FATHER
A. Questions to Ponder
a. Do you see God as a tyrant? If so, why?
b. Do you feel you cannot come to Him for everything? If so, why?
c. Are you fearing Him to the point of not talking to Him? If so, why?
d. Are you mad at God for your life or current situation? If so, name the situation
e. Are you unhappy with how He created you? If so, what is it you don’t like about yourself?
f. Do you see God as your Heavenly Father? If so, how?
Compare your notes to these truths about who God is: (Where there are Scripture references, please take the time to open up the Bible and read for yourself – remember, God’s Word heals and delivers. What we say doesn’t!
"The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the Lord." (Proverbs
21:31)
B. God’s Plan
For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. You will find me when you seek me, if you look for me in earnest. (Jer 29:11-13 TLB)
“When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
“Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.” (Eph 3:14-21 NLT)
C. God’s Character and Nature
“He is merciful and tender toward those who don't deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him.” (Ps 103:8-14 TLB)
1. You’d be surprised how many people see God as a tyrant waiting to pounce on them when they do something wrong. They don’t see Him as a loving Father wanting to help His children.
They only have their fathers to compare God with and don’t understand the Love of God. They may fear their fathers to the point of avoiding them.
2. Many people transfer this kind of fear to God. God wants us to come to Him any time, day or night, about anything!
3. What have you believed about God?
"My son if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding, Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seek her as for silver, and searches for her as for hid treasures, THEN shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." (Proverbs 2:1-5 KJV)
4. We have the wrong kind of fear about God!
The book of Jeremiah also speaks of relationship with God. It also includes relationships with others and ourselves, explaining the results of not abiding in truth!
5. Foundational Truths about the Father
a. God is our loving Father
b. He created you with His hands.
c. God is Love. (I John 4:16) Jesus came to SHOW us His love)
d. God is a Friend (Luke 11:5-11) (Gen. 18:22 – persistent). Moses was the friend of God. Enoch was a friend of God. Adam was a friend of God. Can you go boldly to God at any time for any reason?
e. God is sovereign. (Patient and Kind when dealing with us.)
f. God so loved the world that He gave us the Son. (John 3:16)
g. God is omnipotent. He sits on the throne in Heaven.
h. We need to draw close to the throne. (Hebrews 4:16)
i. God gives mercy and grace. (Psalms 23)
j. God exalts us. (Hebrews 5:5)
k. God is good!
l. God never changes.
m. God is Holy.
n. God answers prayers.
o. God blesses.
p. God longs to visit with us. We were created for fellowship with Him.
q. God Promotes us, honors us, and lifts us up. (Hebrews 4:10)
r. God is my Shepherd (Ps. 23:1)
s. God is with me always. (Ps. 23:4)
t. You are precious in His sight because He loves you (Isaiah 43:4)
u. God is my hiding place IF I let Him hide me!
NOTE: If we knew how much God loved us, we wouldn’t act as we do. Do you have kids that are disobedient and disrespectful? Are they struggling in relationship with you - others or even themselves? It’s because they don’t understand how much you love them. They don’t know how to "receive" your love. It’s not that you don’t love them; they don’t know how to receive your love. This is the same with our relationship with God. We don’t know how to receive His love.
D. Ever Present
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Ps 46:1 NIV)
1. God is right here, right now.
"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save”
(Zephaniah 3:17a)
2. In the midst of your trials and tribulations, He is there for you. You never separated from His love and strength. The great Almighty God, the Infinite Creator of the universe, takes great delight and unsurpassed joy from your relationship with Him.
3. He rejoices “over thee with love." (Zephaniah 3:17b)
4. You ravish His heart, for He takes great “delight in you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride”
(Isaiah 62:4-5).
The Father’s passionate rejoicing echoes throughout the heavenlies.
5. Jesus paints a beautiful picture of unbridled joy:
"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (Luke 15:7 NIV)
6. Repentance is the catalyst for experiencing both joy in heaven and freedom on earth.
God promises that He:
“will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul" (Jeremiah 32, 40-41).
Deuteronomy says the Lord takes "delight in prospering you" (Deut. 30:9).
David understood the love of the Father and exclaimed to the world that "no good thing does [God] withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11),
The psalmist declares that goodness and mercy will pursue us all the days of our life (Psalms 23:6).
The book of Romans tells us that all things work together for good "for those who love him" (Romans 8:28) and that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4).
E. YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD THROUGH PRAYER
How do you imagine God to be when you pray? Is He far from you or near? Is He powerful or passive? Is He disgusted with you or in love with you? Is He a mean old man, a kindly grandpa-type, or neither? Is He listening? Does He care for you? Can He help you?
1. What you believe about God is the most important thing contained in your mind.
2. It affects everything about you. Specifically, what you believe about God affects the way you pray.
Unfortunately, many wrong perceptions of God are commonly believed. These misconceptions distort our prayers and, in some cases, prevent people from praying altogether. For too many people, God seems remote, impersonal, and unknowable. Because of that, even Christians suffer from an inability to feel forgiven, nagging doubt, mistrust of God, and even bouts with hyper-perfectionism.
3. Failure to love and trust God often comes from our pictures of God as unlovable and untrustworthy.
4. Our prayers are shaped by the way we picture God.
5. A dysfunctional picture of God results in a dysfunctional way of praying. Jesus revealed this truth;
"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?" asked Jesus. "Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him" (Luke 11:11-13).
Those with a father who was never around when they needed him or have experienced trauma, abuse, or extreme discipline will have difficulty pursuing an intimate relationship with the heavenly Father.
PRAYER: CAN WE ALL COME TO AGREEMENT ON THIS SECTION?
(Based upon Psalm 86:10-13 NIV)
“Father God, you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. You only have good plans for me. Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Father, with all my heart. I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
I joyfully give thanks to You for qualifying me through Jesus to share in the inheritance of Your kingdom. I could never have earned it, and you gave it to me as a gift through Jesus. Thank You so very much! I repent of ever doubting your love Father. In Jesus' Name, I pray, Amen."
