Worship: For Heaven’s Sake Today’s broadcast featured two accounts of one biblical story. While scoffers focus on points of difference, the real focus must be on the principle.
Wellness: For Health’s Sake Candida portends more than is generally known. A simple test can make a huge difference.
For Heaven’s Sake…
The story of the centurion is an example of a one story told from two different points of view: Luke 7:1-10 and Matthew 8:5-13. In Luke, the centurion sent a delegation. In Matthew, the centurion met Jesus himself. Which is true? Can both be true? Of course.
Desire of Ages, p. 316.2, shows how. The delegation was sent out first. Jesus, because of the pressing crowd, advanced to the centurion’s servant slowly. Word reached the centurion that Jesus was enroute. Attempts to prevent Jesus from advancing toward the home failed. Eventually, the centurion felt he had to personally approach Jesus.
Because ancillary points may differ, serious students of the Bible must focus on the main point of the story, comparing precepts and lines of Scripture. Seek out the principle. It remains the constant. That is the key.
In the story of the centurion, Pastor Flemons pointed out that the faith of a heathen exceeded the faith of the Israelites. That also was the key point Jesus made to the hearers. And because of such faith, the centurion’s servant was healed. Matthew even points out that the healing took place in the very same hour of this declaration.
Pastor Flemons further pointed out that this is the very problem the church faces today: unbelief. So-called believers often don’t really believe in the Word or its promises or the conditions it sets forth. That is why too often so-called believers have very weak Christian experiences.
Yet, the greatest hindrance to spiritual development is and has been church leaders. In early Christianity, the scribes and Pharisees, in their effort to maintain control over the people, did not know how to experience real heart conversion or receive the Messiah, on whom they had so long waited. Similar circumstances exist in the church today.
A prime example exists in Catholicism, where tradition is held superior to the Bible. The Protestant Reformation switched that. The true protestant holds the Bible as supreme. Its mandates are superior to tradition. Most Protestant reformers, it was noted, were Catholic leaders who didn’t really want to leave the Catholic church. They only wanted to bring the church back to the original Christian church that was formed by Christ.
The Bible presents both promises and threatenings with conditions. When obedience is fulfilled, the promise is fulfilled. When repentance and obedience replaces sin and open rebellion, the threat is removed. It is that simple. The repentance of the people of Nineveh proves the point. Their repentance removed the threat of being overthrown in 40 days, according to Jonah’s preaching of GOD’s Word to him.
We must keep in mind that GOD’s Word is an order. Even disease, effectually, must bow to the order.
For Health’s Sake…
Candida is a fungus. It has been discovered that this fungus can wreak havoc on the body. It is naturally occurring. It happens when good bacteria becomes destroyed by a improper diet, lack of water, and taking drugs (such as antibiotics). And the candida begins to overgrow.
Surprisingly, it is related to cancer and autoimmune diseases, because the overgrowth of candida can damage the gut and cause leaky gut syndrome, which allows large amounts of that which should remain in the food tube to be emptied improperly into the bloodstream. The body is shocked. In an effort to correct the leak, the immune system goes into a wild attack mode. This can rheumatoid arthritis. It can cause lupus.
The simple test for candida is done upon awakening first thing in the morning and taking a collection of sputum and spitting it into a glass of water. Normally, unless candida is present, that sputum should float for 30 minutes on top of the water. Sputum has protein on its surface, which will hold together like a raft for 30 minutes, unless candida is present and bores a hole through the raft. If it sinks into the water quickly, you have a bad case of candida. A lot of sicknesses can be addressed by simply getting rid of candida.
The remedy is in fasting, limiting sugars, even lessening or cutting out altogether sweet fruits, and increasing the consumption of green and green leafy vegetables.
Q&A
A brief Q&A session revealed that an herbal formula can be purchased from the Times of Refreshing online store. The candida parasite cleanse contains black walnut, pau d’arco, echinacea, garlic flakes, olive leaf, peppermint, cloves, wormwood, and stevia. Herbs that kill parasites also kill candida. Immune system builders are also included in the cleanse.
The candida test can be performed once per quarter, unless there the body is undergoing a negative change or is experiencing a health challenge.