Destined to Reign (9 page)

During the time of the Roman Empire, the soldiers had various instruments of cruelty and torture at their disposal. The infamous cat-o’-nine-tails was a whip with nine chains. To each chain was attached many metal shards and hooks, so that when a prisoner was beaten with it, the metal shards and hooks would latch onto his flesh and rip it apart when the whip was jerked back. That is why the prophet Isaiah described Jesus as having “no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him”
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.

Jesus’ flesh was torn apart and He was violently scourged beyond human recognition. The chastisement that we deserved came upon Jesus, so that you and I will never have to go through what He endured on our behalf. And by His stripes, we are healed!

So how can anyone have the audacity to say that God will still chastise us with sicknesses, diseases and accidents today? To say this is to negate the finished work of Jesus Christ! Under the new covenant, God will never again chastise the believer for his sins! By His stripes you are healed! Whatever condition you have today, it is not from the Lord! Look to Jesus on the cross. See Him beaten and scourged, and receive healing and wholeness from Him. He has paid the price for your total healing. Today, He redeems your life from destruction
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!

Chastisement In The New Covenant

“Pastor Prince, how can you say that there is no chastisement and punishment in the new covenant? Hebrews chapter 12 states it very clearly:

“5… ‘My son,
do not despise the chastening of the Lord
, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He
chastens
, and scourges every son whom He receives.’

“See, Pastor Prince, here is clear evidence that God chastens believers in the new covenant!”

My friend, there is confusion in the church because the original Greek word here for “chastens” is poorly translated. The Greek word here is
paideuo
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, which means “child training”. It does
not
mean “to punish”.
Pai
is where you get the word “pediatrician” (a doctor who specializes in treating children), while
deuo
means “to teach a child”. You will find that the translation of the word
paideuo
as “child training” is more consistent with the context of the passage. Read on. The next verse says, “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” Even if you do not know that the Greek word for “chastens” here actually means “child training”, you would be able to deduce it from this verse, which tells us that because God deals with us as sons, He disciplines us just as earthly fathers would their sons.

Would you give your son a terminal disease to teach him a lesson? Then, why do you think that your Father in heaven would do that?

Now, think about this for a moment: Would you give your son a terminal disease to teach him a lesson?

No way!

Then, why do you think that your Father in heaven would do that?

Let me give you a Bible study tip: When you read the Bible, be sure to read everything within its context because when you take the “text” out of its “context”, what you are left with is a “con”! Many believers are hoodwinked into believing “cons” and erroneous teachings when something is lifted and taught out of its context.

I’ve never understood how people could see a terminal illness as a lesson from God. They say things like, “God gave that person a terminal illness to teach him patience”. My friend, what lesson is there to learn after the person dies from that terminal illness?

You need to be alive for the lesson to be useful. There is no use for patience when one is dead!

Let me say this again to make it very clear: Sicknesses, diseases and accidents are
not
lessons from God! When you train a child, you give lessons that teach the child things that will benefit him in the future. There is
no
future if the child is dead. God would never use sicknesses and accidents to teach you and me — His children — lessons!

God’s righteous anger against sin has been satisfied and today, we can expect only love from Him, not judgment. We can expect grace, not punishment. We will never be punished in the old covenant way ever again! In the new covenant, while there is no longer any punishment, there is
child training
, but God does not train His children with sicknesses, diseases and accidents any more than you and I do!

How Would You Discipline Your Children?

If you ask me whether there is correction in the Christian walk, I will say, “Yes, absolutely.” But it is important that we understand that God corrects us the way a father corrects his son. Would you torture your own son with sicknesses, diseases and pains to teach him a lesson?

Would you force your son to put his hand into the fire until the smell of burning flesh fills the kitchen to teach him not to play with fire or to touch a gas stove? Can you imagine doing that and saying, “Do you know why daddy is doing this? It’s because daddy loves you. Now, you know that fire can burn you, so don’t play with matches anymore”?

Would you drive your car over your daughter’s legs to teach her the dangers of playing by the side of the road? Can you imagine saying, “Come, girl, be strong! Daddy loves you, so he is doing this for your good. You will understand it some day”? Of course not! Parents who do such things should be incarcerated! There is a “special home” for parents who are like that.

Sadly, there are still Christians who accuse our heavenly Father of afflicting them with sicknesses and accidents to teach them lessons. With teachings like that, it’s no wonder believers are wandering in the wilderness, thinking that God is angry with them and looking for opportunities to destroy them. What kind of God do you think we have? He is our
Abba
!
Abba
is the most affectionate term you can use to address a father in the Hebrew language. It means “Daddy”! Do you really think that your Daddy God will punish you this way?

If you earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more your heavenly Daddy who loves you! I don’t have to tell you that sicknesses, diseases and accidents aren’t good gifts! They are from the devil, and because of Jesus’ finished work, we have been redeemed from every evil work and curse. We can receive protection from every evil occurrence, sickness and disease. By the stripes on Jesus’ back, we are healed!

Read Psalm 103 and look at all the benefits that Jesus has purchased for you with His own body:

Psalm 103:1–5

1
Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
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Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases,
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who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
5
who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Come on, believers. Read this Psalm every day and do not forget any of the benefits of Jesus’ finished work! He forgives you of all your sins, heals you of all your diseases, redeems you from destruction, crowns you with loving kindness and satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Don’t you accuse Him of giving anyone diseases or accidents!

By the way, if the people who insist that God uses sicknesses to punish believers truly believe that, why are they going from doctor to doctor trying to get healed? That’s inconsistent! On the one hand, they say that their sicknesses are from the Lord, but on the other hand, they are trying to get rid of them.

Stop believing the LIE that God gives you sicknesses, diseases and accidents to punish you or teach you a lesson.

I always tell my congregation not to leave their brains at home when they come to church. Stop believing the LIE that God gives you sicknesses, diseases and accidents to punish you or teach you a lesson. I honestly find it difficult to understand why there are believers today who fight vehemently for the right to be sick, broke and defeated when God is full of grace and mercy, and wants us to be healthy, prosperous and protected from all evil occurrences! Let’s start to expect good gifts from the Lord. Reject anything which even remotely suggests that God is angry with you, and is going to discipline you with sicknesses and accidents when you fail!

What About Paul’s ‘Thorn In The Flesh’?

“Pastor Prince, what about the ‘thorn in the flesh’ that Paul suffered from? Wasn’t it a sickness?”

Well, let’s see what Paul said about this “thorn in the flesh”: “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a
thorn in the flesh
was given to me, a
messenger of Satan
to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
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Nowhere in the verse does it say that the “thorn in the flesh” is a sickness or disease.

The Bible, not human conjectures, must be used to interpret the Bible. Thorns in the Bible refer to personalities that harass you. Even in our English language, we use the phrase “a pain in the neck” to describe someone who harasses or irritates us. It is just an expression and does not refer to an actual pain or disease in our necks.

In the same sense, the “thorn in the flesh” that Paul had was not a disease. In the book of Numbers, you will find that the enemies of Israel were described as “thorns” — “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and
thorns in your sides
, and
they shall harass you
in the land where you dwell.”
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Let the Bible interpret the Bible!

Paul himself tells us what the thorn is. He called it “a messenger of Satan”. So it was clearly in reference to an evil personality who instigated people to attack, gossip and backbite Paul everywhere he went preaching the gospel. And what did God tell Paul about this thorn in the flesh? He said, “Just be cool, Paul, My grace is sufficient for you.”
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So Paul did not suffer any sickness or disease. He was so anointed with the resurrection life of our Lord Jesus that even when his handkerchief touched the sick, they were healed.

Are You Hearing The Good News?

Recently, a lady in our church attended a prophetic seminar and a so-called “prophet” told her that the reason her son had a disability was that there was “sin in her life”.

Have you been fed this lie before? Have you been told that the negative things that you may be experiencing are a result of God’s discipline because of your sins? My friend, that is utter nonsense and utter cruelty. God does not punish sin in the new covenant with sicknesses and diseases because sin
has already been punished
on the body of Jesus. His blood has already been shed for the forgiveness of all our sins. When you received Jesus Christ into your life, all your sins were washed away. It is a finished work.

Anyway, the lady approached our church leaders for help and they shared with her that God has already punished sin in the body of Jesus. She then went back to seek this “prophet” to ask what he meant. When he saw her, he tried to avoid her. When she finally got to speak to him and asked him what he meant, he just said, “Oh, that was what the Lord told me to tell you.” (My friend, don’t be intimidated when someone flippantly or conveniently uses the name of the Lord as an excuse to tell you things in your life that are not scriptural.) He then produced a name card and explained that he ran these prophetic meetings part-time — he had a day job and was only a “part-time prophet”.

This is downright cruel, isn’t it? God’s people are precious. They are looking for solutions, answers and help, and we have “prophets” like these going around in Christian circles condemning believers, convincing them that God is angry with them, and that He punishes them with sicknesses, diseases and accidents!

The good news of Jesus always liberates and His perfect love removes every fear.

Come, my friend, it is time to rise above all these teachings that have no biblical basis, and which are not based on the new covenant of Jesus Christ our Lord. The Lord wants believers to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves”
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. Open your eyes and see the evil conspiracy of the devil to keep believers in bondage with erroneous teachings about God that are not based on the new covenant of grace. Whenever you hear a teaching that puts fear in your heart, you can be sure that what you are hearing is not the gospel, or good news, of Jesus. The good news of Jesus always liberates and His perfect love removes every fear. The good news always imparts faith and exalts the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross!

Chapter 7: The Gospel That  Paul Preached