"Such great faith is rare". That is your statement, but we must be prepared to do whatever the Holy Spirit leads us to do each time we are led. In the rare case Philip went to the eunuch. If in the rare case this sister was sent here by God to a particular person, such as this man, wouldn't God provide all that was needed? Since you do not know, is the best thing to use statistics or probability or percentages to advise someone what action to take as you have?
The Spirit leads us to James 5:14 which says
go to the
elders of the
church . The Spirit and the Word are one (1 John 5:7), so when I quote this verse, the Spirit is speaking too.
We are really not to live by a set of hard and fast black and white rules pulled out of scripture. We are to live by faith, which is: "...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
If we are really interested in healing people, then we should apply James 5:14, do the basic things the way God says to do them in His Word first, before expecting great miracles.
Common sense is commonly very unreliable. Only God is always reliable. God even makes house calls, which most doctors these days not only don't but won't. This is likely true of many "elders" as well.
If God directs me to a local church for help then that is where I'll go. If He directs me to an Internet forum then that is where I'll go.
Why seek the help of strangers thousands of miles away when your own church family in your area is ready and willing to help? I know God and His ways and He does not work like you describe. God always directs us to the local church, you know, that thing called the body of Christ which Jesus established starting with at least the 12 disciples? Bible proof is Acts 2:47, when people get saved they get added to the church, not added to the internet. The work of the apostles ministry was always tied to the church, not independent of it or without its knowledge or blessing. Being part of such a local family is supposed to be the primary source of our help and edification, as God intended and designed.
Again with your probabilities. Maybe they work well in mathematics, but I would hardly expect to find God's Word guided by or limited by mathematics. Surely the right way to do a thing, is the way the Holy Ghost leads us to do it. You are going by a physical rule book, which without the Holy Ghost is a dead letter. The Holy Ghost is not in the book, not even the Bible. The Holy Ghost is in a person and quickens the words of the Bible in the person's heart. If the words are not quickened are they alive? I would think not. In my mother's home there was a family Bible sitting on a small table in the living room for 15 years. No one in that house, including me, ever opened that Bible to read it. The words within the Bible had potential but without the quickening Spirit they remained dead. They come to Life, when they do come to Life, in people.
Your computer operates by mathematics. Without your computer you couldn't post the Bible verses on here, on the internet. So there, God's Word is limited by mathematics. In fact, all ministry which requires the internet is limited by mathematics ha ha so that just proved my point.
The Spirit and the Word are one (1 John 5:7). So you cannot say the Spirit is not in the book or even the Bible, they are one.
The probabilities are from God's Word not myself. If Jesus healed most of the time by laying on of hands, then presumably we can heal also most of the time by laying on of hands. Plus, there is the specific instruction in James 5:14. Why do things the hard way? i.e. try and pray for them at a distance, and expect them to have great faith. Let me tell you it doesn't work. Most of us don't have enough faith to pray for someone to be healed in person, let alone over the internet. Start with prayers in person first, and then when you are confident of your healing gift, then see if you can heal over a distance as well.
Is it not limiting God when we decide how He is or is not going to do thing... or how He can or cannot do a thing? Do we have "ears to hear" or not? "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Hear what? How about hear God?
"To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers." John 10:3-5
Are we not his sheep?
Besides faith we also have to have wisdom, in how to apply that faith. If we have small faith and try and walk on water, we will sink. So we know that we must use a boat. Don't expect those with small faith to walk on water, go to them in person and lay your hands on them, just as Jesus did.
If we do not step out in whatever faith we have now, when will we? After the dirt is thrown over our faces? Jesus is a real Counselor, more qualified than the best ones trained in the best schools of men. Those men have their place but that is not and should not ever be to re-place Jesus. Are you a follower of Jesus or a follower of the best that men have to offer? Have you mixed up your priorities?
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt 6:33
I know some great Christian counselors who counsel not from themselves but from Christ the real Counselor, and who have also received the appropriate training and experience to match. I don't think the training or lack thereof is an issue.
Oh my Lord help any of us who believe that this what we are to and to trust in...
With this attitude, why should we bother to read the Bible or pray or attend a church building? Just leave everything to the elders of the church and the trained professionals.
What happened to... "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." [John 14:12] According what you have said, it would seem that Jesus was lying. I do not accept that.
Jesus also said : Mark 16:18.....
They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed." Jesus wants us to place our hands on the sick. You can't do this over the internet.
If we pray for someone and they don't get healed, its probably because we are not doing what Jesus said to do in Mark 16:18. We expect God to heal them by a beam of light from heaven or something lol.
I didn't say we have to trust in them, we must always trust God, I said we should go to them. And by trained professionals I mean trained Christian professionals, or at least those in your local church whom you can actually meet with face to face. Sure you can quote those bible verses, and the snake handling churches can recite the same verses as well, but they still get bit and die like anyone else - it doesn't mean Jesus lied, it meant they were just being foolish and tempting God. For all your talk, have you ever actually worked a greater miracle that Jesus did? How many dead people have you raised? Unless you have raised from the dead more people than Jesus did, or even healed people by your shadow like Peter did, I don't think you are in any position to lecture me about miracles. My faith may be small, or it may be big, I may or may not have the gift of healing, I actually don't care, if I did heal many people I wouldn't make a show, I just know that the Spirit says to go to the elders of the church. Quite a number of people have been healed (and proven by doctors to be healed) in my church by doing so. God seems to respond when we do what He says to do in His Word .
Let me tell you something about internet healers and also internet prophets like this guy who got banned. Some of them convince you that you are sick or have a problem, they pray for you, and then you are healed (of something you never had anyway). Normally they start by asking if you have any pain.. you say "yes".. well of course you have pain, everyone has pains lol, but then they make you believe its serious, like cancer or something. These sad people do it not for money, but because they think they are someone special in the kingdom of God, they think they are a prophet or an apostle or a miracle worker sent by God. They want God to use them so much, or perhaps they are neglected so much in their own church, that they must resort to deception in order to convince themselves and others that they are making a difference. The way God heals in the Bible, is not by self- proclaimed internet healers and miracle workers, but in and by the church family, and particularly under the authority and with the blessing of the elders of your local church. And God also sends healers out "two by two" (Mark 6:7). The disciples healed or cast out devils in groups of two or more, not by themselves, for safety and accountability. God's way is not to use nameless and faceless strangers and self-proclaimed miracle workers over the internet, and I don't care how much people claim that "God told them", God does not contradict His Word.
This is how the Bible says we should do it - we should not be doing it independent of the churches or the blessing of our local church, and we should not be "lone rangers". To do so is to not respect God's kingdom, God's governance and authority. Even the apostle Paul, was not a lone ranger, after conversion he went to the prophet and had hands laid on him, and Paul was sent by the church, with Barnabus (not by himself), (Acts 13:1-3, 15:3), sent not of his own accord or independent of the church.
If you want me to believe you are a minister of God, then unless you have actually worked verified miracles, unless you have the knowledge and blessing of your church especially the elders and are accountable to them, unless you are ministering with others e.g. in pairs and not by yourself, sorry but you are
not sent by God but by your own presumption sir.
