When the fire of God begins to burn in our midst, it fosters a renewed interest and desire to hear from God. When God’s Word is revealed to us, it begins the process of burning out the chaff in our lives and exposes the heart and unbiblical practices that we have neglected or simply chose not to conform ourselves to. With a renewed vigor, we passionately hear and conform to God’s Word in our lives and in so doing, foster the move of God that is working its way through us and seeks to move through us to touch the world around us.

Exodus 14:15 (ESV) ...Tell the people of Israel to go forward.

Faith moves towards a destination. It moves towards the completion of what God has said regardless of what says differently. God's message reveals, Faith, true biblical faith, Moves Forward!

James teaches us to double down and pray again until the answer comes. He uses the illustration of Elijah who had the Word of God for rain. He teaches us that Elijah, upon receiving the Word, went to pray. But, it wasn’t a simple one time pray, it was deep intercession until the promised rain came upon the land.

In the same way, we must approach the promises of God ourselves. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man brings a sure reward

Mark 11:23–24 (ESV) Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

In the Kingdom of God, the person in whom Christ is truly formed is one who is not simply living a godly life, but one who is imparting their godly life towards others. In short, we are called to not only be reflections of His image and likeness, but to be fruitful and multiply. We are called to reproduce others as well. Not just to make converts, but to take on the responsibility to bring those converts into maturity. We are to go into the world and to make disciples of all nations. Like Paul, we must be willing to take to heart his attitude towards those around him when he said,

Galatians 4:19 (NKJV) My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

You and I are like that bird. We get sick – spiritually - when we live in the wrong environment; when we find ourselves in the wrong place. No amount of “medicine/works,” will bring wholeness until we get in the right environment. When, like this bird, we get into our rightful place, the place where we were anointed to live and function, then we too will be in the right setting for us to thrive as we fulfill our God- given destiny.

Genesis 37:4-5

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

"He can do what no one else can do and God not done yet"

When God issues a directive to us, we must view His word as unchangeable and unmovable. It is everything around us that must accommodate the Word. As we take that biblical understanding as the foundation of our thinking process, we then use the authority and the power the Lord gave us to bring the opposing circumstances into submission. That’s how we fight the good fight of faith.

 Bethel, it is the House of God; It is the portal or the doorway from heaven to earth.

The purpose for these messages it to get us to realize that We are Bethel! Not just our name, but our identity is Bethel!

 We are the House of God!

  We are the doorway from heaven to earth! 

We need to be heaven’s penetration point on earth, the headquarters of the kingdom of heaven on earth. Bethel is the place where heaven and earth meet. It is the place where God’s Kingdom comes and God’s will is manifest on earth, as it is in heaven. It is the gateway of Heaven.

  We, the Church are the place where God Himself resides!

  We, the Church are God’s access point into the earthly realm.

I hope this biblical look at this passage will destroy the lie that God is somehow wanting to keep you from being healed because like Paul, He has given you a thorn in the flesh as well. As we have seen, God did not give Paul a thorn in the flesh, and He is definitely not giving one to you either. What He did provide for you is Grace made evident in His healing power.

God is everywhere, He promises to be with us always. He assures us that He will never leave us or forsake us. We are the church, We are Bethel! We are the House of God! We are the Place Where God dwells. We are the Place Where God’s Manifest Presence is Revealed. We are the People of God who are on fire! We are the light or the fire of the world!  God set your church on fire!