Friday, February 24, 2017

Healing in the Kingdom Book Report

These are book reports I have written as a first year student at the International Healing Rooms School of Transformation
Healing in the Kingdom Summary 
Briefly write what the whole book is about and why the author has written it.
This book is more about changing the mindset of the body of Christ at large than it is a treatise on how to get healed or even how to heal others. Its more about how we change the ideas that are rooted in religion rather than revelation. How do we move forward not just to heal the sick but to transform cities. We have to move from a Rapture mentality to a Harvest mentality. We have to move from a three fold ministry structure to a five fold ministry structure and return to the foundations set in place by Jesus for the early Church. 

(Imagine the author will read this and would say, “Yes, this is the main point(s) of my book.)  
Apostolic and Prophetic folks are generally seeing and learning to walk in things long before the body of Christ catches up to those revelations.  In this book written 10 years ago, Cal explores larger issues than simply healing for the individual but the healing and renewing of our minds, that is so needed in the Church at large. Little by little folks are laying down the trappings of dead powerless religion and embracing not just healing but the Healer. At the time this book was printed  there were 700 healing rooms in 40 nations. Presently there are over 3000 Healing Rooms world wide. Cal has focused on creating a net work through which this message can be spread to the whole world. Where change regarding health and healing to this point has been like pushing a snow ball up a hill with a lot of patience and effort. I believe  we are now seeing that snow ball crest the hill and begin its downward decent becoming bigger and bigger with amazing speed. In actuality it is not one snow ball now 3000 snowballs. 

Briefly outline 4 major points of the book as the author presents them including page numbers.  

“It is our mindset that determines how we filter the God’s word. “ pg 21
Cal talks about the difference between a Greek and a Hebrew mind set. The Greek mindset causes us to filter things through  our natural senses and react to what we experience. The Hebrew mindset looks to the unseen realm and bases ones decision not on circumstance but on a Heavenly prospective. I had a dream a number of years ago now during a time that church I was attending was moving through a church split. In the dream the congregation had gathered and was having Greek food and talking about taking trips to Greece. In the dream I believed this to be moving the church in the wrong direction. As I was not able to truly embrace the direction that either side of the split was heading we asked for God to re-assign us and he did it is where we still serving. At the time I had to really search out what God was trying to tell me through that dream. My pastor there says no one comes to the Bible from a neutral position. We all filter it though our particular mind sets. We need the mind to be renewed to begin to filter the word thorough a kingdom/harvest mindset.  I thought the chart on page 22 showing the polarizing positions between the two mindsets one can easily see why healing is difficult for one and not the other.  Page 30-31 there is another quote on this subject speaking of Ephesians 4:17. “That futility of their mind is the Greek mindset, which would have us live according to what we experience with the natural senses rather than live by what we believe in the supernatural realm. “

Only when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that something exists in the supernatural realm can we then establish it in the natural realm. pg 37 When we begin to realize that Jesus paid for more than us to be saved and wait around for him to return and wisk us out of here do we begin to live a SOZO kind of life and begin to walk in the supernatural. “Christ is our Healer and the work of healing is already done. The work of healing that He provided two millennia ago is as real and active today as it was then, because Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13: 8) nor will He void His Word to appease any denomination, tradition or unbelief that might try to deny its power.” We have been dealing with “Church” that has opted for religion rather than revelation, to truly see people saved, healed and delivered we must begin to change how we think about healing. We have to realize that it exists for today and that we can all as believers walk in it. We spend a lot of time in the Healing rooms praying for the same folks over and over, most of them are believers but they are hobbled by their own unbelief and mindset and live in bondage to a Greek mindset. 

Understanding God’s Word means embracing it, believing it and acting on it. For God’s Word to be understood, it must be fruitful. For it to be fruitful, it must become active. For it to become active, it must move from heaven to Earth and become evident in our daily lives. Pg 105  Soon after this particular quote Cal talks about the Roadblocks to healing and they all seem to in my opinion stem from a lack of understanding of God’s word. On page 112 Cal lists 8 Roadblocks to Healing as 1. Lack of forgiveness, 2. Lack of knowledge, 3. Sin in our lives, 4. Lack of faith, 5. Improper understanding and use of Communion, 6. Unbelief,  7. Being problem-centered, 8 Justifying our condition rather than claiming our position. 

The Body of Christ must become a Body that goes to church on Sunday looking to establish healing in the Body so that the Body can then establish healing in cities. pg 222
The final chapters of the book talk about Authority, ours as individual believers and the need to restore the five fold ministry. The church at large has embraced the work of Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists which have been able to function to some degree even with in the Religious Greek mindset. When we add back in the Apostle and Prophet which really only function with in a Hebrew, Revelation of the Spiritual Heavenly Realm type of mindset. They got erased because they need the power and revelation of God to operate the other three can limp along in the natural. All five areas of the governmental structure of the Church need to be healed and restored to their proper position and purpose for the “Church” to be truly healed and for her to begin to be the victorious, warrior bride that Jesus desires. 

Thoughtfully explain one main strength (or point of agreement) with the author. 
I found this quote written by Cal over ten years ago.  It say “ If you only teach on healing, it will keep you where you are, dealing with sickness. But if you bring the message of divine health, it will deliver you out of sickness into the miraculous.” page 175  I guess I am surprised and comforted at the same time by the fact that God was talking to Cal about divine health all that time ago and that we are only now seeing it begin to manifest and become a reality in the Healing Rooms Ministry. I guess I am comforted that even for visionary Apostolic leaders like Cal Pierce it can take time to get others to walk in the reality of what God has shown them. Change takes time. It requires us to re-educate and renew how we have understood and looked at the Word of God. I am thankful and privileged to see the unfolding and transformation of this ministry and to know and see Cal and Michele as real people who struggle and overcome just like the rest of us and yet take big bold steps of faith that have and continue to move all of us forward to transform our lives, our churches, our cities and our world. We are all ordinary people, who through partnership with Jesus are enabled to  extraordinary things through the power of the Holy Spirit and the blood and testimony of Jesus.  

Write down some of your favorite sentences in the book.  “We are wallowing in our “problemness” - our negative circumstances - and crying out “oh God,  come and deliver me! But just maybe, God might be saying” I’m not coming into that mess you’ve created! If you want to get delivered, maybe you need to leave the influence of the enemy, come to where I am and get out of all that junk. Deliverance requires us to move out of where we are and into where God is.” pg 167

When we have a vision for a city, we begin to move into our destiny - a destiny of seeing lives transformed. pg 229

The unity effort (particularly in America) has begun to unravel because people don’t want to offend each other, and they tiptoe around theological topics that they need to join together in discussing and seeking out common ground. pg 220

The things of God are in the realm of God, the supernatural realm, to which, by the Holy Spirit in us, we have direct access. pg. 197

We know that God listed the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the order that they are in for a purpose. Love is first. Why? Because you can’t have the next fruit  (joy) without having love first. And you can’t have peace (the third fruit) until you have joy. It’s progressive. pg 148

We have resurrection power to demonstrate to the world who Jesus is , who the father is and what His will is. It must be demonstrated because it’s a truth that requires visualization in order to bring it into the seen realm. pg 107

Remember, the existence of what you don’t see is greater than the existence of what you do see. A miracle is simply a physical encounter with the creative will of God, brougth forth by our unshakable faith in God. pg 99

In what way did this book impact your life as one who transforms cities? How will you be different? It has encouraged in having read the book and gotten to watch Cal in real life to know that he truly lives what he writes. I also was encouraged that it takes time for even kingdom people to get on board and move with the new things God is releasing through the five fold ministry. 

 What challenges(s) have you been given by the Lord to implement some of the strategies in this book?  I have a wellness center that is in me and it feels a long way off at this moment but I have seen God move in amazing ways in the past. So I am asking and looking for the steps of faith that I can take at this point. One after the next and eventually you arrive at your destination. Cal was hearing from God about the idea of teaching a message of divine health 10 years ago and he has stuck with it and it is becoming something the rest of us can begin to see understand and walk in. 

 My Concluding Thoughts

I enjoyed this book and know that I will refer to it often. This report only scratches the surface of the many topics covered. 

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