Dear Partner,

What is God like? For many years I thought of God as being full of judgment and vengeance. Reading the Old Testament seems to validate those opinions. Yet Jesus told His disciples that there is really only one way to know what God is like and that is … to see Jesus!

John 14:9   Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

Jesus said He never did anything that He did not see the Father do. He is the visible manifestation of the Father. Once this truth was made known to me years ago I did an in-depth study of the life of Jesus in order to compare what He showed us of the Father compared with what religion had taught me. I found some amazing truths that I want to share with you today.

Did you know that there is not one single person who came to Jesus wanting to be healed that did not get what they came for? There were a few cases where Jesus had to instruct them first, but even the Canaanite woman got deliverance for her daughter and the gentile Roman Centurion received healing for his servant. Neither of them had a covenant with God before the resurrection of Christ, yet Jesus demonstrated the love, compassion, and tender mercies of the Father as healing was manifested for both of them. In both cases He said they had "great faith."

One hundred percent of the people who came to Jesus for healing received what they came for. Yet most churches always add in their prayers for the sick, "If it be thy will." Jesus came to show us the will of the Father. Here is something else you will find if you study His life. Not once did Jesus say "if it by thy will" when He healed the sick. [He only prayed "not my will but thine be done regarding His assignment to die on the cross.] He already knew the Father's will when praying for the sick. Never once did Jesus imply that somebody did not get healed because it was not the will of the Father to heal them. On the contrary, Jesus said again and again what was lacking when people had a difficult time receiving their healing … lack of faith! One example was when the man brought his lunatic son to be healed. Notice what Jesus said to him;

Mark 9:23   Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

"If thou canst believe." Jesus did not even hint that it was not the Father's will to heal the man's son. The will of the Father was not the issue. Faith was the issue. The Roman Centurion's servant was healed because the man demonstrated "great faith." Faith in what? Most people don't have any trouble having faith that God "can" heal. They doubt whether or not God is "willing" to heal. JESUS CAME TO SHOW US FOREVER IT IS THE WILL OF THE FATHER TO HEAL! Here is a perfect illustration:

Luke 5:12   And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Luke 5:13   And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

This man asked "the" question that every sick person wants the answer to: "Is it the will of God to heal me." The leper had no doubt that the power of God could heal him. He wasn't sure whether or not it was the will of God to heal him. Notice Jesus' immediate response: "I will." Jesus said if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father. What is the will of the Father regarding healing? "I will." Hallelujah! Here is one more witness from the New Testament regarding the Father's will to heal everybody;

James 5:14-15   Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

Notice it simply says that after being anointed with oil in the name of the Lord, and after the prayer "of faith" [not doubt] … the prayer of faith SHALL [not maybe] save the sick, and the Lord SHALL [not maybe] raise him up. Even if the sickness is the result of sins … those sins shall be forgiven him. Look how gracious, merciful, and loving our Father is. Even if the sickness is the result of sinful living, He will forgive those sins and STILL heal the person of their sickness. Our loving Father is so different from the way religion has pictured Him to be.

The good thing about faith is that it can be nurtured. "Little Faith" can become "Great Faith." That's why Jesus compared faith to a grain of mustard seed. It may start off very small, but it has the capacity to grow into a huge tree producing massive quantities of fruit! Let us be a people who are in the process of developing great faith in God!

Sue and I love you and appreciate you.   We thank God for your generous and giving heart.   God bless you!

Your friend and co-laborer,

Gary Carpenter

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