Wendall Smith of The City Church in Seattle has written an interesting blog about healing…and of course by interesting I mean confusing. The blog was written back in February so it may not be current, but this is what he says:
This past week was a challenging week for me and many members of our church. While I have been preaching the message of healing from the pulpit over the past few weeks, the devil is still at work attempting to steal, kill and destroy.
One of the dear sisters of our church and a wonderful mother and wife suffered an undetected heart attack and went home to be with Jesus on the weekend. Another dynamic young Pastor's wife passed into eternity after battling cancer for several months. Many people prayed fervently, cried out to God and did everything they knew to secure healing for these women of God. But they died. They departed from us and went home to be with the Lord in Heaven.
TOOT TOOT, I have an announcement to make: When I die, whether it is tonight or in 100 years, it will be the work of the Lord. It will be because God has allowed it to happen. It will be God's decision that I die. I refuse to put my life in the hands of the devil and I can not understand why Pastor Wendell Smith would end a paragraph about healing with, "the devil is still at work attempting to steal, kill and destroy and follow that up with a paragraph talking about people in his church who have died. Why does Wendell think dying is the work of the devil?
Announcement over.
Wendell then goes on to list 7 "comforting secrets" that are "hidden in the pages of God's wonderful word". Here are a few of them:
#2 – The Scripture tells us that the "secret things belong to the Lord" and the things that are revealed belong to us (Deut 29:29). There are many things in this life, on this side of eternity that we do not understand, and therefore we must trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean to our own understanding. We may not know the "why" but we can know the "Who"!
We may not know the "why" but we can know the "Who"! WTF does that mean? And how does it relate? Geez Billy, sorry your mom died…and while I don't know "why" she died I can tell you "Who"!….see that doesn't even make any sense.
#4 – We have the sweet assurance that Heaven is an unfathomable reward for the believer. The death of the saints is precious in the eyes of the Lord (Psalm 116:15). Paul actually says it is far better to depart and be with Christ, and that to die is gain (Phil 1:20-23). He even says that he wanted Christ to be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death!
"The death of the saints is precious in the eyes of the Lord…"but wait…
#6 – With hearts full of faith and trust in the Lord our Healer we will continue to speak the word of faith and healing for people. We have been commissioned to preach the Word and heal the sick (Mark 16:15-20). These momentary contradictions will not hinder us from obeying the Lord and continuing His work. In fact we will retaliate (2 Cor 10:6) with greater fervor and zeal and continue to destroy Satan's evil works- by preaching and propagating Christ's healing message.
"We will retaliate with greater fervor and zeal and continue to destroy Satan's evil works…"
So…what I hear Wendell saying is that the Evil Works of Satan is precious in the eyes of the Lord…
It all sounds like double talk. I don't think Wendell knows what he is talking about. That is all.
Give the guy a break. Everyone has writer’s block, even pastors.
(Although ya.. he probably should have had another cup of coffee and maybe had someone proof-read it with “does it make sense” glasses before hitting the publish button.)
Its not the writing, but the doctrine that is off. This is exaclty what he is teaching the congregation right now…
I love the idea that the Lord does not bring sickness, but decides these things in the secret place…if he decided it in the secret place, then who decided it? I got news for ya, God is in control of everything, even our sickness and death.
This is a sad blog by Wendell that shows the pretzel you get twisted into with the health and wealth doctrines.
I believe in divine healing and that God’s best for us includes health. I also realize that, in general, the faith/pentecostal/charismatic church does not know how to deal with sicknesses that are not healed. For some, healing is our divine right as believers. When people are not healed or die, then something has gone haywire in the system. The idea that God may allow sickness to remain for whatever reason is contrary to how many see God. Odd explanations occur when people have to explain why God is acting in a way they believe that He does not behave (letting his people remain sick). The other extreme of course is to be one of Job’s friends and blame it on the sick person.
The issue of death is odd for most of Western Christianity. If our ultimate goal is to get to heaven then it would seem a success when people have the opportunity to be with Jesus no matter how sad or tragic the circumstances. We live for heaven but cling to this world with everything we have. It is a natural and understandable contradiction.
When sickness and death meet it creates an odd dichotomy in some. They cannot reconcile that God could allow good Christians to suffer and die from a sickness. Thus it is the Devil. If they die then in a way the devil killed them. So, they had an untimely trip to heaven.
Yet, if God is in control, then God is in control of the person who passes away and those that are left. If heaven is our goal, then the deceased won the race. They reached the goal first. The situation is messy no matter what you believe. Trying to make it clean is what makes it confusing, especially for those who believe in diving healing.
Just one man’s opinion.
The wife of a friend died of COPD in April. For them, it was the grace of God. He is really struggling after 33 years of marriage and being his wife’s care taker for the final years of her life.
He is looking for God in this not the devil. It seems like such a better way to go. Understanding that we live in a fallen world means that life does not always have the best outcomes even for the faithful. Yet, results do not change who God is and His love for us.
I heartily agree with the above! I also believe in divine healing, but don’t believe it is the devil’s work when someone dies. EVERY HUMAN BEING who has ever lived with the exception of Enoch and Elijah have died…whether of old age or by tragic illness or wound. God knows each and every day they have…and their death is ordained by Him or He wouldn’t allow it to happen.
That’s where the devil LOSES! He may THINK He’s taking someone out when a demon-possessed thug shoots and kills someone on the street, or when someone dies of cancer, but I’m thinking (tentatively) that even the devil ultimately serves God’s purpose because the Word says “ALL things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose”.
I believe the problem is that people do not want to give God complete control. Its very hard to say, “There is nothing I can do, it is all up to God
Now I know most Christians say this (and sing about it every Sunday – ala I Surrender All) but if you dig, even a little bit, into their theology you often find that they actually will not let God be In Control.
This is what makes the TRUE message of Grace so hard to accept. We can do nothing to save ourselves…it all relies on God’s will to save us. Without Him choosing to save us we are left rotting in our sin. But we want to believe that God saves us when we tell Him too. I just don’t see it work that way.
The same is with healing…by blaming the Devil for death we as Christians are able to act like we can have control by using terms such as resisting, fighting against, spiritual warefare…we also are able to separate what we see as Good (credit goes to God) and Evil (blame goes to the Devil). We don’t want to blame God for doing things that we don’t like (ie…killing off our loved ones) because that would require true surrender of the things that are most precious to us.
Should one of my 3 precious children die young will I have the courage to say “Jesus you are all that I need, thank you for your grace”?
I think I love that new term “doctrinal pretzel”. It perfectly describes the Prosperity doctrine in that is contorted and leaves you thirsty after you swallow it.
On a related note:
So, do Steven and his family blame the Devil or God or their 15 year old son for the death of their little girl? Or was it just a terrible accident that ended in tragedy? Even more important than their public stance, how do they respond to their son in this life-defining moment?
Notice also that he didn’t blame the Devil or Himself. We can learn a lot from Job.
Is it fair to suggest that we get a “voice” in God’s plan though? I mean, I think there are a number of times when God has listened to His people and opted to do plan B instead of plan A, or at least given that option. And although ultimately His Will is still accomplished…(and He knows what that Will is from the beginning)…it still allows us a chance to be challenged and be vocal and be a part. We just have to realize that if we do express “our” desires and God moves forward with a contrary plan, His Will is still being accomplished and is for the better (even if we can’t see how or why).
Just thinking out loud.
I think we do have a voice and that God does hear our prayers. Sometimes He just says no. The challenge is that we do not ever truly know why he said no. At that point, we need to learn to trust God without all of the extra stuff.
My sister died at 34. It bothered me that people wanted to make it clean. Too many good natured Christian folks wanted to say that she was in Heaven when we really did not know. Most wanted to make my mother feel better about things. Yet, my sister was not living a life that reflected a faith in Christ. We do not know how far Christ’s grace extends, but we have to live with not really knowing. The mystery is what should keep us humble and inside of God’s grace and forgiveness. I say this to point out that it is difficult for people to hold onto truth when things get a bit ugly.
Wow, there are a couple of really big subjects to discuss here. The problem of evil in the world, and the balance between free will and Gods’ sovereignty. Both have been debated for centuries!
One of the problems I see with the ‘health/wealth/blessing doctrines is they never address suffering. Suffer/Suffered/Suffering is listed in the New Testament over 60X. I don’t remember EVER hearing a sermon on it in my years at CBC. At some point, it becomes impossible to ignore, so they have to patch it as best they can. They never want to serve up a whole meal, just get right to the strawberry shortcake every Sunday! If all you ever eat is strawberry shortcake, you aren’t going to be very healthy.
Death originally came about due to the disobedience of man. See Genesis 2:17, and Hebrews 9:27. We are all going to physically die unless the Lord returns during our life. I don’t think God or the devil can be blamed here, God put the blame on man: see Gen. 3:17-19 . Take a look in the mirror!
The idea that “God is in complete control” has been debated here before.
I don’t want to start a long drawn out battle here, but I disagree.
If God is in control of everything, then there is only one kingdom. Jesus tells us there are two.(Matthew 12:26, Luke 4:1-7, Revelation 11:15) The Apostle John agrees in 1 John 5:19. There is a war going on for the souls of human kind.
Christians ALWAYS want to blame bad, sinful things on the devil. It’s an easy cop-out and a way to explain the unexplainable. It has always bothered me when people say things like “the devils hot to get me,” or “Satan is attacking me at every corner.” Maybe I am wrong but I always thought that only God was omnipresent? Unless satan can be in all places at once, why would he/she be attacking little old Joe Buck in Salem Oregon with the problem of alcohol when there are missionaries in China leading thousand to Christ everyday. Wouldn’t you think that Satan has some bigger fish to fry then the average everyday person struggling with sin? I think more people need to recognize that we live in a sinful world with demons that penetrate different areas of our world with sin and death, but it doesn’t always mean it is the work of the devil.
Take my dear friend Katherine Wolf. She is a 26-year-old model/actress living in Los Angeles. She is the most dedicated Christian I have ever met (and many people will second that opinion). She has a wonderful family and a newborn 6-month-old son. Her man of God husband of 4 years was 3 weeks away from graduating law school. Everyone who knows her absolutely adores her. I bet you cannot find one person who can say a negative thing about her. However, last month she suffered a traumatic brain injury and went through 13 hours of brain surgery. No one knows if she will ever be able to walk and talk again. The doctors said it was a miracle she even survived! So right now there are thousands of people all over the world praying for her (and that’s not an exaggeration). She has been all over the internet and news media. So the biggest question is why? Why would God let this happen to such an amazing woman with such a promising life? Was it the devil? Where was God’s protection? No one knows the true answer but God. However, in this time of confusion and doubt God has done amazing things through this tragedy and I believe it is 100% under his reign. The devil had nothing to do with it. This is Gods work and when Katherine does make a miraculous recovery she will have a message that will reach to every corner of this earth. But only God knows that big plan, so instead of sitting around blaming the devil, we get up and praise God.
Amen to that Ex! I have known similar tragedies where God was at work and amazing things happened through the ordeal. God is in the drivers seat!
Wonderful message!
Wendle is dealing with health the same as he does wealth.