A hear a cry from the
battlefield... another soldier down! Can you hear hit? Or is your own wound
screaming above your fellow soldiers' for relief? I have never experienced such
a time of woundedness in the Body of Christ. Many victory flags have fallen. A
retired army veteran recently shared with me shocking insight about being
wounded in war. He said, "It takes four or five soldiers to take care of
one wounded in battle. But if a soldier is killed outright, it takes just two
to put him in a body bag." Upon hearing this, I am convinced the devil
gets more warped pleasure out of us living a long wounded life than trying to
kill us.
Wounds and Tombs Go Together
I am reminded of the man who
lived among the tombs who kept breaking chains that could not hold him. The
word tombs originally means "remembrances or memories.†His memories had come
to destroy him. I wonder, what was that first hurtful memory that little by
little started his walk toward the tombs? Was it a harsh word spoken or his
imagination misreading someone's compliment? Did he over hear someone say, 'He
will never amount to anything?" Was he the kid with a story of abuse no
one would believe? Did the enemy somehow know that this child was born with
such a brilliant mind that he would change the history of his nation? My heart
goes out to this man and every depressed and tormented person chained to their
past memories. When Jesus asked him his name, he said, "My name is
legion." Legion means 'multitude. Perhaps he was saying, "I have been
called so many names by so many voices, I don't who I am. I have lost my
identity." Jesus spoke and the chains broke and he found his identity in Christ
his creator. No more chains! He was free! He wanted to follow Jesus, probably
wanting to tell the world his testimony. But Jesus surprisingly told him to go
home and tell what great things the Lord had done for him. This proves the man
was at one time normal and lived with a family and people in that village. In
other words, go home where your rejection and wounds started and show them what
has happened and love them. No more chains! To my knowledge the man never left
his home town to tell one of the greatest miracles Jesus ever performed. But
his mighty deliverance carved itself into history through God's word for
generations to come to hear it. Jesus came all the way from the other side of
the sea through a great storm to touch this man. And He can come to where you
are today. He'll come through hell if needs be. Bring your hurt quickly to the
Lord for his healing hand to touch you.
Forgive Quickly
I will never forget my healthy
brother who became sick with a terminal disease. The doctors told him they
believed his disease began about three years ago. They asked him this:
"Dick, was there anything that happened in your life about three years ago
that seemed to knock you off your feet or overwhelm you?" My brother told
me, "The doctors were right on. It was exactly three years ago a neighbor
offended me and I couldn't get over the hurt. I was right and he was wrong. I
couldn't go to sleep without thinking of that man. It got to where food didn't
taste right." The neighbor was unaware of the offense and kept right on
living unharmed by it. My brother finally forgave that neighbor but the lack of
forgiveness had already eaten him up from the inside out. It took his life at
age thirty-nine. A wound can start with a little disagreement or unkind word
from someone you'd least expect. It then festers into an offense and if not
dealt with, becomes a wound that brings a slow death.
Had my brother lived I think he
would preach one message today. "Forgive quickly, please forgive, it's not
worth it!"Don't let another
wounded soldier die.
I once heard a testimony where the Holy Ghost was falling upon the people during worship. The preacher, R.W. Schambach, testified how the piano player got so filled with the Spirit that she fell off of the piano bench and the piano kept right on playing. No other explanation could be found except, "Jesus knows how to play a piano!" I believe we are entering into a time and place of worship and praise where we will experience some unusual anointings upon musical instruments that will be played, at times, with heavenly fingers - either through His people, and sometimes without them.
"If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath" (Ps. 34:18, MSG). Broken: having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order, (of a person) having given up all hope; despairing. It seems no matter who we are and how much we love Jesus, there remains a broken area in our lives that God is still working on. I said to my wife recently, "Do you know anyone in the body of Christ, including us, who's not broken in some area of their lives? Do you know anyone who is normal?" She said, "Bill, normal is the setting on the dryer downstairs."
"To whom He presented Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, appearing to them for forty days, and speaking concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). For several days, I kept hearing the Lord say, "I've got something up My sleeve." I said, "Lord, what is it?" He said, "Only those who are close enough to Me, leaning against My breast, hearing My heartbeat and leaning on My everlasting arms, will see what it is. My people have heard from CNN, Fox News, NBC, MSNBC, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. It is high time they hear from Me."