Awitch, Here are my replies in red to your latest post-
They can also be caused by traumatic experiences and chemical imbalances.
That is quite true. Many mental conditions are caused by traumatic experiences, especially phobias, schizophrenia, anorexia, bulimia, multiple personalities, hearing voices, etc. Remember the story of Cybil? These are 100% curable if the patient submits themselves to counseling, prayer, and are willing to forgive those who caused them emotional trauma and hurt. This ministry is referred to as “Inner Healing”, or a healing of the memories. Chemical imbalances are fairly common. Of course, the medical profession has no other means to identify its source. I believe its origin could either be physical and/or a spiritual one. When Jesus healed, he often cast out spirits associated with that illness. Who would’ve known deafness could be caused by a spirit? But Jesus didn’t always cast out a spirit, but also prayed for physical restoration. I’ve seen and heard of people being healed just by forgiving someone, or repenting from a particular sin, like adultery.
I’ve also encountered severely mentally retarded patients that picked me out of a crowd and acted violently or somewhat out-of-character toward me while I consequently happened to be the only Christian in the room and that understands spiritual warfare. The spirits in them know who and what I am, and may react to the presence of the Holy Spirit within me. I’m no one a servant and a believer in Jesus Christ.
My point was that you and your church members do not have the credibility to diagnose these conditions. And by getting them to think they are cured of demons, they may not seek the proper medical attention that they really need. IMO, your practice is dangerous, and could be potentially deadly.
There is nothing wrong with identifying a problem. We’re not in the “business” of healing people as a profession. If I’ve got a sore elbow, I don’t need a doctor to tell me I’ve got a sore elbow. We never discourage people from seeing a physician, nor do we ever tell people to stop taking medication. In fact, it’s beneficial for a person to be properly diagnosed, so we know precisely what to pray for and how. If a person gets healed, they’ll find out themselves that they may no longer need any medication. Or, they’ll see a doctor to get re-diagnosed. Whatever the conditions are, we know the symptoms, and we go from there. Experience, a word from the Lord and some knowledge obtained from the medical profession all contribute to us helping people.
My pastor is somewhat of a closet expert in this area and has completely cured people of schizophrenia and anorexia with the help of the Lord.
What makes your pastor an expert? What training did he receive?
You may ask the same question of Jesus and his disciples. My pastor is a minister of the gospel and is filled with the Holy Spirit. But in response to your question, he has 2 doctorates in fields unrelated to the medical profession. We don’t display ourselves as experts in the field, or licensed counselors. We’re still learning ourselves. Doctors will tell you they don’t know everything either. There’s nothing unethical or illegal about praying over someone and having them forgive people.
Whatever training I've received was done at church, ministering to others and learning from the pastor.
Have you published these practices? Do you realize you could be copying something that someone just made up?
You learn by actual experience, studying the Word of God, and reading books written by experts working in the field of psychiatry. You can be a boxer and shadow box all your life, but until you step foot inside the ring, you’re not a fighter. There’s a terrific book written on this subject of inner healing called “Pigs in the Parlor”, by Frank and Ida Mae Hammond. I met them in the mid 80’s. They’ve since passed away, but you can easily find their book. I highly recommend it.
God gave us free will.
Doesn't your faith hinge on prophecy (predestination being contrary to free-will)?
No. The Bible says in Romans 10:17- “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
The faith spoken of in the Bible is different than how we use the term. Our version of faith is quite shallow. You can believe a lie, but it doesn’t make it true. Faith comes when you seek the Lord and learn to hear his voice. You cannot have true faith unless you hear God’s voice. God’s word never comes back void. When you hear God’s voice and obey, that’s when miracles happen. This is where you gain experience to know whether you actually heard from God. Building one’s faith takes time and effort. Jesus walked in complete faith because he always communed with the Father. This is why he always knew what to do and what to say. Jesus and the Holy Spirit were inseparable. The result of that faith is miracles wherever he went. The apostles later attained this, and it is something we ought to pursue as well.
I don’t waste my time thinking of predestination. I view it as an excuse for Christians not to accomplish anything, or to use as a cop-out. You can receive a prophecy that you’ll be a prophet one day, or some other ministry, but unless you step out and put your nose to the grindstone, you’ll never fulfill the prophecy. The concept of predestination is only something the Lord should be concerned about. God doesn’t control the future, but he knows what’s going to happen, based on free-will and the choices people make on earth.
However, there are a lot of books written and recordings on the subject matter that will explain things a lot better than me on this forum.
I am interested in reviewing them...could you please provide some examples?
You can just Google it. Otherwise, you can read a book called “Spiritual Warfare”, by Richard B.W. Ing. It’s sold on Amazon.com.
