Today was a day of teaching pastors in Kompong Thom (central), Cambodia. The lesson was both teaching and praying for leaders. The leaders are all poor rural leaders. They came in their best clothes, the clothes reserved for weddings and special events. These special clothes were all worn and old, and mostly with wholes, yet they were all finely pressed to be as neat as possible. I love these rural pastors. Their faith in Christ is pure and their work ethic is solid. They work with the Lord and serve the Lord with all their heart. Most of them face persecution, yet they continue to share the gospel.
One key element really touched a special point in their hearts. The difference between the Gospel of Salvation and the Gospel of Kingdom of God. Jesus taught the gospel of the Kingdom. . .go ahead, check your Bibles. . . a quick search will assure you. The Gospel of Salvation is part of it, but it is not complete. Many people understand that the Gospel of Salvation is that we all get to leave the earth and end up in Heaven. Great news!! We just have to persevere in this life and then we can escape. I can’t wait.
Yes that is part of it, but it is not complete. Consider the Lord’s Prayer that we all know. . .
“Our father who art in Heaven, Hallowed by thy name. . .”
“Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. . . ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.” (Matthew 6:9-10)
On earth as it is in heaven. This is what the Lord taught us to pray. So did he mean it? Can heaven come to earth? Absolutely, this is what God has called us to do. Not to escape the world (which will eventually happen), but to bring Heaven to earth. What is the characteristic of Heaven? Perfection, holiness, sinlessness, righteousness, health, joy, love, peace. . . isn’t that we all would love here on earth!
Indeed, we saw a glimpse of what can be today. At the end of the day, we just prayed for people. We would be willing to pray for anyone. The first girl came up. I asked, “what would you like us to pray for?”
She quietly replied, “I have AIDS.”
That set the tone for the afternoon’s prayer. Would there be AIDS in heaven? Absolutely not. So we prayed and she started crying and shaking. More and more people came and asked for prayer. We just kept praying. Anything was ok: cancer; deafness; high blood pressure we prayed for nearly two hours. At the end of our time we celebrated what God had done. Twenty-eight people were instantly healed of sickness from things as “little” as acid reflux to deafness. Yes, one man, who came deaf was healed and can now hear. He has been deaf for a few years after being cursed by a witchdoctor. He can now hear, almost perfectly. Yea God!!
