Normal Church

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? 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. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed…                            James 5:13-16

We, as members of the body of Christ are supposed to be healed. We, as members of the body of Christ are supposed to be out of debt.

That is not to condemn as a bad person anyone who struggles with a chronic illness or with paying the bills each month. To be sick and in debt are so commonplace among believers that many of us consider it normal. Many are thankful to be getting to heaven and are willing to be "suffering for Jesus" with a little affliction here in this life until He calls us home.

Realize how being sick and in debt hinders the gospel. Our task of reaching the world REQUIRES us to be well and well-financed, people of God! It is an awesome task that we haven't yet accomplished in over 2k years, and the world population isn't getting any smaller. It pains the Father’s heart.

Understand that our "Great Salvation" includes, not only forgiveness of sins and eternal life, but healing for the body and supply for every possible circumstance in which we may find ourselves on our journey to evangelize the world.

Yeshua, ministering under the Old Covenant, healed and supplied the immediate needs of any and all that came to Him for aid. On a few occasions, He extended grace to those outside the Abrahamic covenant. Why would we expect Him to do less under the New Covenant?

Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 11 that correct administration of the Lord’s Table results in physical healing for the whole congregation. The Corinthian church was not benefiting from that because they were not properly observing the Lord’s Supper.

This passage in James was written primarily to Hebrew believers, but with the understanding that if there were any sick in the congregation, they could be assured recovery by working some simple biblical principles to kind of "refresh" the faith of the congregation and demolish any strongholds of sin that may have been allowed to creep in.

The Father stands ready to answer, but the connection to health and temporal supply begins with an accurate understanding of His magnanimous heart.

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole,  put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 MSG