Are we seeking Jesus for the easy life, for financial blessing and a life that is trouble free, basically we want to be rich and have pleasure after pleasure following the pattern of a fallen world.

If you are seeking prosperity and asking Jesus for a luxury lifestyle you are going to be disappointed. If you are seeking Jesus looking for miracle after miracle, then you’re again going to be disappointed. Jesus is not a tool to make you rich and live an extravagant life, or to provide you with thrill after thrill carrying out miracle after miracle. We are here to serve Him, and to pursue eternal life. He are scriptures that talk of eternal life spoken by Jesus Himself.

John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”

John 4:14, “But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

When we have given our lives to the Lord, we are here to do His will in our lives, whatever that looks like. We must seek Jesus with genuine motives, and everything else will follow. Provision will be there for us to live our lives and miracles will come that are in line with Gods plans and purposes.

An answered prayer

Sometimes it can take a while to see a miracle happen. But when they do happen, oh the joy it brings! A prayer written down on 30^th January 2024 that contained a list of names asking God to save these people and lead them to His kingdom. We just learned that at least 4 of these people have come to know Jesus. Here is the written prayer.

Welcome to the kingdom Luke, Sean, Declan and Andrew.

What we are saying is this. Live the life God has called you to live seeking Gods plans and purposes for your life, not your own. Pray and continue to pray and the miracles will happen as and when they should. Don’t become a thrill seeker looking for miracle after miracle. Living a Godly life the best you can doing everything for Him, with Jesus at the centre will give you the kind of water that satisfies and causes you never to thirst.

If this article has stirred, you up then speak with a trusted leader. Seek if your motives in following Jesus are true and genuine receiving prayer. Jesus can help you on to the right path.

Here is a scripture that we all have to ask ourselves.

Luke 18:8

8 “I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

When our Lord Jesus returns will he find faith on the earth? Will we individually have faith when He returns. What is true of the Bible is the Lord certainly does care more about the state of an individual’s heart. He cares about the small details. He doesn’t necessarily care about large numbers. Let’s justify what we are talking about through God’s word specifically in Mark 12. Here is the word talking about the the widow’s offering.

Mark 12 v 41 – 44

41 “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you; this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Do you see what we are talking about? It is not about the numbers, it is not about the amount, it is about what the widow decided to give in her heart out of her poverty. This lady was not a wealthy person, but she gave what she could.

The Lord cares about everyone, not just a large crowd of people so that He could look good, big and powerful. Again, let us turn to the word to describe what we are talking about, specifically in the parable of the wandering sheep.

Matthew 18 v 10 – 14

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11] [a]

12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”

Do you see? Jesus will leave the 99 to go in search of the 1. It is not always about numbers, in fact it is never about numbers.

Remember that in Revelation Jesus spoke about the church in Sardis.

Revelation 3

3 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b] of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Jesus said there will be churches out there that will be artificial. They will look alive but in fact they are dead. But He does tell them to wake up and gives them time to change their ways.

If you are in a church that boasts in their size then always check with God that the church is following the Lord authentically, with correct motives, pray about it to God. It is not about the size it is always about the condition of the heart, that is what the Lord is interested in, a personal relationship and He is there through His Holy Spirit to help you with the deceits of the heart, including wanting to be a part of a church that looks big and powerful, however really, those churches are far from the Lord as were those in the church of Sardis. Go to a church for the correct motives, God is the one who protects you not the size and outward look of the church.

Will the Lord find faith when He returns? That is a question everyone should think about. Are we serving the Lord for prosperity and our own gain, or are we serving the Lord for His purposes and His plans for His will to be done, not ours. Pray about it He will always guide you in the right direction if you ask for His help.

We have heard recently that local pastors have said that church has failed in its responsibility to heal people. What did Jesus say when he declared himself Messiah? In Luke 4 v 18 to 19:

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Jesus did come to heal as he declared in the synagogue over 2000 years ago. Whether the church has failed in healing only God really knows. However, here at Canton Community Church we have seen many miraculous healings.

We want more people to come to Canton Community Church if you require prayer for healing. Why? Because we are a church that fervently prays for people who are unwell, and we have seen lots of healing through prayer.

It was said locally that prayer does not work to heal people. We don’t agree with this, especially when Gods word says that praying can bring about healing, plain and simple. But let’s not dwell on that too much.

We want to show you examples of how people have been healed through prayer and these are true stories, we want to make the point that PRAYER CAN HELP BRING ABOUT HEALING.

Before we show you examples, it is important to mention that the Lord can absolutely heal someone, however sometimes he does not heal immediately, or on times it can take a while for healing to take place in a persons life. We must always submit to Gods will and we must trust Him in His plans and purposes, but the word is true, never cease without praying and pray to the end, especially for those who are unwell. Here is the word that states this in 1 Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

16 “Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Let’s take a look at prayers that have been answered when requesting healing.

Prayer 1

A lady who had blood cancer. We prayed for this person. We saw her in Canton and she declared to us that she is completely healed. Here is the prayer.

Prayer 2

A lady who had breast cancer told us she has been healed and is out of danger.

Prayer 3

A lady who had foot cancer has been healed.

Prayer 4

A person who has been healed of liver cancer and out of danger.

Prayer 5

A person healed of spinal cancer and is out of danger.

Prayer 6

This next prayer situation is amazing. A girl who had suffered kidney failure, has received a new kidney and has received new life and can move forward. Here is confirmation of prayers being answered in a WhatsApp message.

Here is one of those prayers prayed for this girl.

Prayer 7

A girl healed of meningitis.

Prayer 8

An elderly lady who received prayer below. She was told that her bone could not grow back because of her age, this meant she would have to have a metal plate inserted to attach two of her bones together. With prayer the bone grew back and the lady was completely healed. Here is the prayer.

Prayer 9

A gentleman who was terminally diagnosed with stage 4 renal cancer. He has been healed. Here is that prayer.

Prayer 10

A man healed of a broken back.

We believe that this shows that prayer can be an engine for healing as well. So keep praying for the people who are unwell because it can lead to healing, and glorify Jesus in Heaven because Jesus is the healer.

When we hear of prayers answered regarding healing, the joy they bring is hard to convey, just pure joy. Joy where we want to sing Gods praises like that in Psalm 96.

Psalm 96
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

Let’s get a little vulnerable. When we are in church, we often hear other Christians inviting other Christians around for lunch or evening tea. That is great we need fellowship. But can we offer another option as well?

Would it also be a good idea to invite a new person who is new to the Christian faith around for lunch or evening tea too.

Scenario

A lady who is a single mother and has struggled to raise her children comes along to church, she is new, but she is a little different from the rest, she has been metaphorically speaking beaten up by the world, has had a tough time and looks relatively unkempt. You can forgive her for that because she has used everything she can to raise her children, and it has left her bruised with nothing much left for herself.

However, when this lady comes to church, she comes along, but never gets an invite to come along to lunch or evening tea from other Christians, because she is unkempt and perhaps a little different from the rest.

Here is the alternative we would like to suggest. Invite people who are new to church to your table. Don’t just take the easy option and invite other Christians around to tea because it would be a lovely easy time because you already know them. Do the radical thing and be bold inviting new believers, or people who have yet to make Jesus the Lord of their lives but are curious about our faith to your table.

Obviously, you have to be careful who comes to your table. We know people will recite safeguarding issues to us. However, if the Lord has been good enough to bring people to our church, then hospitality has to be extended to new believers and people looking to come onboard with the Christian faith. We have a responsibility to include new believers in our circle to help them with their faith. So don’t just take the easy option.

Jesus was radical in love so let’s also be radical and let kindness cost us something. Discuss this with a trusted friend and let’s push the boat out.

If you have a loved one who is unwell then praying for them can lead to healing. The scriptures are very clear. It is not complicated or has anything to do with rocket science. Pray for the need and leave it with the Lord. We have a Lord who heals.

Here is a scripture that makes it so simple for people to know that the Lord can heal through prayer.

James 5:16 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Here is an example of a prayer for a person who was healed of foot cancer.

You simply pray about the illness, and have that mustard seed of faith believing the Lord can heal that person agreeing with scripture. Through prayer the Lord can lead someone to being healed as we have seen countless times here at Canton Community Church.

Leaving it with the Lord is the best thing you can do. Sometimes healings can take time, sometimes Jesus can heal instantly as we see in the Gospels. Sometimes the Lord does not heal, but we know this the best thing you can do is pray, we say again pray, pray and pray some more and lean not on our own understanding.

Jesus is the healer and when you hear of the healing, glorify God and praise Him as the scriptures tell us to do throughout the Bible. Keep praying and keep glorifying the Lord. All glory be to our Father in Heaven.