By Josephine Lim Weston
A few days ago after watching very encouraging sermon excerpt of Pastor Joseph Prince on youtube (Why No virus Can Come Near You) I decided to send the link (just the link) to encourage my family and friends in the face of Covid-19. One group that I also sent to was the new church we are attending. So here I share with you the exchange WhatsApp chat I had with one of the leaders of the church (I've changed the name of the leader and the church to protect the person's identity):
Lawrence: Hi Josephine, its Lawrence here from __C. Trust you and the family are doing well. I can imagine it must be a challenge for you all through this "lock down" period. Please be assured of our prayers for you. Please be in touch if you need anything. Your post on the __C group was unusual. It was unusual because we tend to use the group chat for announcements, prayer requests and encouraging each other with a Bible verse or song, rather than talks or sermons. We've worked in this way so that it doesn't get too clogged up. I've listened to the talk, but struggled to understand how Joseph Prince has used these verses from Psalm 91 to say we won't get ill. If, as he says, angels are watching over us, why do Christians get ill. From what we read in the New Testament, we are all in a broken world, and Christians as well as everyone else are not free of illness or difficulties. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians about his struggles in a variety of ways and in chapter 4 he speaks of us as being jars of clay. It is often through our suffering that Jesus is glorified. People around us see the tough times we go through and marvel that we have a positive hope because we know Jesus and he walks with us through those times. You and Andrew have experienced that with your baby and I'm sure you were able to share your faith during those very challenging times. We praise God for you all and love having you as part of our fellowship. Please continue to join in the __C group.
(By the way I want to clarify here that Lawrence was incorrect to say Pastor Joseph Prince said we won’t get ill. Pastor Joseph Prince said Covid-19 virus will not come near us according to Psalm 91 and as we partake of the Holy Communion)
Josephine: Ps Joseph Prince did mention in his sermon if we get ill God can still heal us.
Lawrence: Yes, that's what I struggled with. He seemed to be saying different things.
Josephine: One simple question: Is our God a Healer?
Josephine: Find from the Bible all the healing promises of God. Never live life based on other (Christians) experiences which is shaky ground. Live our life based on God's word which is solid and unshakeable ground. (Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God - Matthew 4:4 and Deuteronomy 8:3)
Josephine: Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Josephine: Mark 9
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Lawrence: Yes, I definitely believe God can heal. And I know he does. But that’s not always the case. He is sovereign and we worship him whether he chooses to heal or not.
Josephine: It is not God to blame if one gets healed while the other doesn't. He heals. Refer to Mark 9:23. Do you believe He is willing and can heal you? All God's promises are Yes and Amen
2 Corinthians 1:20
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
Lawrence: I’m loving our conversation on this. Thank you.
Josephine: Meditate on Hebrews 11:1 until it sinks deeply in your spirit and be renewed in your mind. A Christian's life is not "Que Sera Sera, whatever will be will be".
God wants ourlives to be a testament of His Holy Word - untainted, assured, certain and Faith-fueled. He is an awesome loving God and willing to go through death to give me life and life more abundantly hence how could He withhold health from me. He is far better than my earthly father who though human would give me the best medical care if I'm sick so how much more God our Loving Saviour. All he wants is we trust and believe Him with all our HEARTS (not only with our mind/theory or with our lips/saying) that He is for us and not against us. He gives us life and life more abundantly. Of course that includes health and wholeness in our spirit, soul, body and mind. The enemy comes to steal, kill and to destroy but I have come to give life more and more abundantly said Jesus. (John 10:10)
Josephine: Good night and be blessed dear brother Lawrence. You and family are very dear and precious to us as you have been a great blessing to many. I believe God is using you even mightier if we allow God to renew our minds each day.
Romans 12:2
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Lawrence: You too have a good night. God bless.
Mark 9:21-29
21 Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he answered, “Since childhood. 22 The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” 23 Jesus said to him, “[You say to Me,] ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes and trusts [in Me]!” 24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out [with a desperate, piercing cry], saying, “I do believe; help [me overcome] my unbelief.” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering [around them], He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!” 26 After screaming out and throwing him into a terrible convulsion, it came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse [so still and pale] that many [of the spectators] said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. 28 When He had gone indoors, His disciples began asking Him privately, “Why were we unable to drive it out?” 29 He replied to them, “This kind [of unclean spirit] cannot come out by anything but prayer [to the Father].”
I have been challenged on few occasions whenever I encouraged people that God heals. They tend to draw from other people's experiences that so and so get sick and die, etc. Hence I shared with them the testimonies of my wonderful grandparents. (I thank my maternal grandparents that because of them we came to know our wonderful Saviour Jesus Christ).
Here's the summary healing encounter of my maternal grandfather:
He was healed by God at least on 3 occasions. He had his first heart attack in his early 50s and a Christian medical doctor was there with him when he lost his pulses and his face turned pale and purple. (The medical doctor thought my grandfather had passed away and was nervous and thinking a way of how to break the news to my grandmother then suddenly my grandfather came back to life after they prayed). My grandfather told us after he came back to life that he saw (in his vision when unconscious) short people all around him (Chinese believe that if you dream about short people that means your life is short and you're facing imminent death). He said he knew his time was up and then he saw a bright light and there's a voice. He knew it's Jesus and negotiated with God for his life saying, "I don't want to go yet (although heaven is a wonderful place) as I've still got my wife and 2 young grandchildren (me and my brother) to look after. I still need to be around." And guess what? God granted his wish and he came back to life. Ever since then, his faith toward God became stronger.
When my grandfather was in his late 60s, he had a bad stomach ulcer that caused him to pass out blood. He was hospitalised and had to go for a major operation where the surgeon said it's likely that a big part of his intestine needed to be cut out (this happened because my grandfather used to smoke and drink a lot in his younger days prior to becoming a Christian that could have been triggered by his anxiety as a result of being tortured during the Japanese occupation in World War II.) The surgeon further said there's a risk in the operation as he had a heart condition so he might not make it during or after the surgery. So we all prayed as a family, woke up at 6 every morning, held each others' hands, knelt down and interceded for my grandfather. I remember my grandfather told us very confidently and cheerfully (few days prior to his surgery) with a drain bag full of blood still attached to his side, "Don't worry, this Friday I'm going to go up to Church of Genting and testify that God has healed me." We all laughed at him in our hearts of course (like Sarah laughing at God's promise of a child in a year's time) when he said that as all that we could see was his blood bag; and he was still bed ridden and we had been hearing all the bad medical report from his doctor.
The night before the surgery, my Auntie Nonie prayed in tongues and laid hands on my grandfather's stomach for God's healing and he vomitted brown blood after a convulsion. On the night of his surgery, before they could operate on him, they had to do x-ray a few times and miraculously they found no traces of blood in his intestine. The next morning we went to the hospital to visit him and expected him to have come out from a major operation but what we saw was the blood bag wasn't there anymore. He sat up and all-packed said to us, "Doctor said I can discharge today and I'm going up to Church of Genting to testify of God's goodness." What a miracle! And my grandfather lived a full life and finally passed away at a ripe old age of 86 - 30+ years God added to his life after his first heart attack all because my grandfather believed in God and He is able to heal.
Here's the summary of my maternal grandmother's belief when it comes to health:
My grandmother was a very spiritual woman. She had very strong character and generous in giving to churches and financing new pastors in their ministries. She knew God's word and can remember all the names of the 66 books in the Bible. She learnt to play piano in her early 50s and could sing beautifully. She's a very capable and God fearing woman. She even drove us to school and church. She had always been very strong physically for example able to move heavy sofa all by herself but she was found to have high blood pressure even though she seldom fell sick. I remember she kept telling us almost every other day since we were little that if ever she finally needed to burden someone to look after her when she's old having to wipe her urine, etc she would rather die. So it happened when she was 60 years old one middle of the night she suffered a stroke as half of her body couldn't move and she was admitted to hospital. The doctor advised that brain surgery had a better chance of survival although it comes with its risks, etc. So she kept telling us form the hospital bed that if she had to burden people to look after her she would rather "go". We said to her (after all the healing grace my grandfather had encountered we had no doubt God can heal her too) God can heal you. You'll be ok. But all she did was grinning at us and looked down. On the day before her scheduled brain surgery she said, "All the mourning clothes are behind my bedroom door if anything happens to me remember to give this amount (of money) to so and so and so." We said to her, "Don't say that. God will surely heal you." How many of us know we can't push our believe or faith on someone else as they have to decide and believe themselves to see the miracle. You are what you believe and say. So my maternal grandmother went for her brain surgery and was in a coma for a week and then passed away as she said.
Mark 11
22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 23 “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
During this Covid-19 crisis, I want to encourage all of us to take hold of Psalm 91 and meditate on it and believe and declare it over ourselves and our loved ones. Don't be afraid or be intimidated by the virus but (after you have done all that's required to look after yourself and family) believe in what God's word says and you speak in line with that. God will see to it that those who trust in Him will not be ashamed neither be disappointed (Romans 10:11). So choose to still believe even though a thousand may fall on your side and ten thousand on your right, it shall not come near you (Psalm 91:7).
(Powerful) Psalm 91 song to share with you all:
Here is the picture of my loving late grandparents:
