The Enemy Within. The Enemy Within Series Part 1

"He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one." Matthew 13:37-38 (NKJV) Who would fathom that this reality can actually be seen within the church! It makes sense. The evil one wants to hinder us of being faithful witnesses. If the people in God's church are dormant, the evil one rejoices!

"The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age." Matthew 13:39-40 (NKJV) We are not the ones to distinguish who is a tare (a weed) and who isn't. Our Heavenly Father is in control of this. He knows who we are and He is quite patient in leading us into His amazing love.

Where do these tares come from? "The enemy who sowed them is the devil." Matthew 13:39a (NKJV) Yes, the evil one will try to thwart for us from being victorious, and at times he succeeds. Those who rely solely on our Father, however, will have the victory! "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NKJV) I would like to take a moment to introduce to you one of these "tares" that has crept unawares into the church.

During the first 350 years after Jesus' birth, healing was the norm amongst Christians. Everyone could heal, for they were all close to the Master, Jesus Christ. A non-Christian neighbor, for example, whose son was very sick, would welcome the visit of a Christian who would pray for the total healing of her child, and often these healings would lead to the entire family becoming followers of Christ. What these Christians did was simply this: they showed them how much our Heavenly Father loves us. It is a fact that our Father likes to work together with us for the healing of those in need, and there was always great rejoicing among these Christian as well, encouraging them to continue to pray over those who were sick.

Healings still happen, even in our day. They are, unfortunately, much rarer than in the early church. Take for example, the husband of my colleague. He had two nodules of cancer in his prostrate, and it seemed nothing could be done for him. When I asked my colleague if I could pray for her husband, she eagerly accepted. Three weeks later, when the doctors were verifying the progress of his cancer, it was completely gone. My colleague came straight to me, all excited. Another colleague, a friend of hers, witnessed this as well, and she has also grown in her faith. She has started to talk more and more about our Heavenly Father.

We need to realize that even though healing is no longer a common occurrence, our Father is not a sadist. Who in their mind would withhold the healing of anyone? Our Father heals us because He loves us, and these acts can at times reach people who didn't know our Father at all. One healing is often all it takes to make them realize there is a loving Father!

So what happened to healing after those first 350 years? Why did healing became less and less common?

Welcome to this detective story. We invite you to join us over the next few months as we begin to unravel what happened to healing in the church. Unfortunately, we will see the enemy's thumbprints are all over the pages of history, but let's not get sidetracked by the fact that healing is now a rare occurrence. Rather, let's come to understand that we cannot ignore or dismiss as impossible what Jesus has ordered us to do: "And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'" Luke 10:9 (NKJV) Remember: Although the evil one doesn't want us to acknowledge this, healing from our Heavenly Father is STILL a reality!

Rob Chaffart To contact us click here