Month: June 2025

Posted in Matthew

Healing and the Kingdom of God

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“And having summoned His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of sickness…And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.” Matthew 10:1; 7-8

Several years ago, while living in Montevideo, Minnesota, I had a vivid dream about Divine healing. I was in Walmart (in the dream) when I recognized a woman from our church who was walking with another woman who had one leg that was injured. The woman from our church was a brilliant light for Christ and filled with faith as to what God could do, and I knew if she saw me she would ask me to pray for her friend.

I wasn’t in the mood. So instead of going toward her I was planning a get away, so she wouldn’t see me. Too late. She saw me and immediately came toward me with a big smile on her face. “Would you pray for my friend?” she asked. After agreeing to do so, we went into a room that was right off one of the side aisles (remember, this is a dream), and I began to pray.

This is where things got interesting. I started to pray for her leg and I was filled with the love of God for this person. I could feel the anointing of God go through my hands and knew she was healed but that wasn’t what gripped me. It was God’s intimate love for people in pain. I woke up with the presence of the Lord still resting on me.

What does this dream mean? I felt like the Lord was saying two things:

  1. His end game is not the healing presence of God in our sanctuaries but in the streets. We need to encounter God at church and learn how to minister in church, but He wants us to have a much bigger vision because most of the people He wants to reach don’t currently go to church.
  2. Healing is not about His power but about His love. Jesus wants to reveal His intimate love for people by touching them in very tangible ways. His healings are not just going to make those who are healed fall in love with Him – they are going to make those who are used to bring the healing fall more in love with Him than ever before.

Let’s draw near to the King so we can learn to carry the kingdom everywhere we go!

Posted in Luke, Matthew

The New Wine

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17

God was not able to pour out His Spirit in fullness under the Old Covenant. In fact, He put a veil between His manifest glory and mankind because of their sin. If sinners got too close to His holiness, judgment would break out as it did many times when they were under the cloud of His presence in the wilderness.

God didn’t love His people any less under the Old Covenant, but His touch of blessing was limited to people’s obedience to the law. The law was the old wineskin and the wine it held was limited to a few people (kings, priests, and prophets) and was only poured out while they performed their functions.

In our text, Jesus is answering a question the Pharisees had. They wondered why Jesus’ disciples weren’t keeping the fasts they kept. Jesus announced that a change had taken place with His coming. After He was gone His disciples would fast again, He explained, but it would be for a different reason. Under the Old Covenant one fasted in hopes of receiving favor; under the new covenant a person can fast as one who already has favor.

The new wineskin is the new covenant Jesus made with the Father. He died in our place so that we can be forgiven and be adopted as the very children of God. The new wine can be abundantly poured on anyone who believes in Jesus because His shed blood removes the judgment our sin would have automatically triggered under the Old Covenant.

Jesus’ death and resurrection frees His Father to pour out the Holy Spirit and allows us to receive more of Him as often as we ask. Jesus said: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (and continue to ask) Him.” (Luke 11:13)

Own your identity as a child of God and use this favored position to ask for more of heaven’s wine. This wine is key to lasting joy and healing unlike the stuff that can only give a short buzz and is often followed by a hangover.

Posted in Mark

The Privilege of Partnership

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“After me comes One who is mightier than I, and I am not even fit to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals.” Mark 1:7

John the Baptist led a nationwide revival in Israel where his preaching prepared the way for Jesus. Yet he didn’t feel like he was doing God a favor, but only that he was immensely privileged to do anything in partnership with the One who was mightier than he was.

Shortly after we moved our family to Montevideo, MN in the mid-nineties, I received a call from a woman in the church I was the pastor of. One of her favorite missionaries was coming to visit and she was hoping I would have him speak on the Sunday morning he was in town. I said I’d pray about it, but the truth was that I was a little miffed about even being asked. I was brand new and trying to establish myself in the pulpit, so I just didn’t want to give up a Sunday morning to someone I didn’t know, even if he was an established missionary.

One night shortly after my little tantrum I had a dream. A friend of mine was holding a huge missions night at his church and I was to be the “special speaker.” It even said that on the posters they had up advertising the event. But after the meal my friend turned to me and said, “Things have changed. We’re not going to have you speak tonight.” What struck me was that he didn’t even say he was sorry, in fact, I could tell he wasn’t sorry. That scene stopped and another started.

I was in the foyer of Lake City Church (now City Church) where I was holding a small workshop at a convention. There were only fifteen people there but I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit all over me. I spoke briefly and then asked if any wanted to receive Christ. Several hands went up and when I asked them to come forward they were so overcome by the power of the Spirit they fell on the floor on their way forward.

I woke up from the dream and a couple of things were very clear to me. The friend in the first scene represented the Holy Spirit and He wanted me to know that whether He uses me or not is His choice, and He doesn’t owe anyone an explanation if He decides not to use them. The second truth that filled my heart was that ministry is only special when the Holy Spirit is present. Whether there is one, fifteen, or a thousand – it’s His presence and His anointing alone that makes any opportunity meaningful and powerful. We should never care about being “special” in the eyes of people because it’s only what God thinks about us that matters.

Posted in 1Thessalonians

A Prophetic Word

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good…” 1Thessalonians 5:19-21

I think of the whole area of prophecy as being more like art than science. It is messy and difficult because people are involved that still have a sin nature, past wounds, and opinions of their own. “What is truly a word from God and what is just me?” This can be a difficult question to answer when we feel God might be speaking to us directly, or through others. Paul gives us three truths about prophecy in the text quoted above:

  1. God does still speak today, so be careful not to quench the Spirit when He is speaking.
  2. Just because this is true does not mean that everything said in the name of God is necessarily from God.
  3. Examine every supposed prophecy, not as a cynic, but to find what is good (what God is saying).

Years ago I preached a message on Contending for More of God’s Presence. Afterwards someone anonymously left me a prophetic word they had received and written down before the preaching. The note left with it only said that they thought the word, “might be for the church from our Lord.” I felt a real witness in my heart when reading it, so I submit it to you for consideration and prayer.

“I am looking for a people to pick themselves up, shake themselves, and stir themselves; a people who are passionate, sensitive to My Spirit, and powerful in the realm of My Spirit. I am looking for a generation, a people who will be different, who will be strong, powerful and creative and intense in their knowledge of the Holy and with a genuine persistence for My presence. I want My people to launch out into the deep, into a depth of greater proportion… for I am their portion, and I have much more to impart to My people as they will ready themselves for a greater outpouring of My Spirit. I am calling for the church, My body, to anticipate My agenda and allow My Spirit to do a greater work in and outside any mandated boundaries, and I will show forth the works of My Father as My word promises. So open your hearts and your lives to a freshness of My presence, break down barriers, and expect to be embraced by My presence because as you submit unto Me, I come.”

Posted in Luke

Contending for More

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (and continue to ask) Him.” Luke 11:13

Our greatest need is more of the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lets us know that even though we’re sinners (“evil”), we are the children of God and can just ask for more of the One who will overcome our lack and give us what we need for every situation we face. It may seem like God is delaying, but if we are persistent in our asking, He will give us His Holy Spirit. (See Luke 11:5-13) So why don’t we ask?

Some fifteen years ago when we lived in Montevideo, MN we got a computer game called, “Raptor.” It was straight forward and seemingly easy to play, so I initially loved competing with my ten year old son, Matthew. Then something horrible happened, he started beating me. The game centered around this fighter airplane you operated that shot down enemy aircraft as they tried to destroy you. The enemies increased as you went along, but you could also pick up money packs at different stages to buy more weapons. I always bought the weapons that I understood how to use, bombs and shields. But as I struggled to get through level one and only infrequently made it to level two, Matt started making it to the fourth and fifth levels every time he played.

“Dad, you need to buy different weapons to go higher. Let me show you how to do it.” Why was a ten year old having to show me how to do anything? I had a choice to make that day; either I keep my pride intact and continue to struggle, or I humble myself, admit I can’t do it on my own, and allow my ten year old son to teach me how to acquire the weapons that will take me to the higher levels. He taught me and I began to gain confidence with my new weapons. That which had seemed impossible before became second nature, and enemies that had intimidated me before were now on the retreat. I was amazed at how much difference having the right weapons made.

The advantage we need to fight the Christian battle more successfully is not going to come from us trying harder, but from us asking more. The Holy Spirit has gifts He is waiting to give us if we would only humble ourselves and start contending for what only He can give.

Posted in 2Samuel, John

The Michal Spirit

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

‘How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!’ … “I will be more lightly esteemed than this and will be humble in my own eyes, but with the maids of whom you have spoken, with them I will be distinguished.’ Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.” 2Samuel 6:20; 22-23

It was a great moment for the kingdom of God. David had conferred with all the leaders and there was great unity in the decision to bring the ark of God back and to make a place for it in Jerusalem. There was celebrating, rejoicing, dancing, and great wonder in the people of God because something significant was happening in their day and they were privileged to be part of it.

Unfortunately one of the main members of the team, David’s own wife, Michal, couldn’t participate. Instead of being part of the celebration, she was sitting on the sidelines despising David and everything that was going on. Before we rush to judgment on Michal, I think we need to get in her shoes.

She was a king’s daughter. She knew how to do things the right way and she probably wasn’t even consulted. What she was seeing was not the way her Dad, the king, had done it, so her own experience and tradition were actually in the way of her accepting what God was doing.

I’ve been under the Michal spirit before and it is miserable. Here are a few signs that you may be under its influence:

  1. You don’t enjoy God anymore. 
  2. You find you can’t enjoy people because you’re so critical.
  3. You can’t enjoy church because of what’s wrong with the preaching, or the worship, or something else.
  4. You are spiritually barren. There’s no such thing as being dead and right in Christianity. However right you may think you are, when you’re dead, you’re not right. (John 5:39-40)

The good news is that if we will agree with God about our sins, He will forgive us, and can remove the barrenness the Michal spirit causes.

Posted in John, Luke

Ministers of Forgiveness

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“’Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.’” John 20:21-23

I grew up in a tradition that took this verse to mean that there were some men who had the authority to forgive sins on this earth. The truth is that only God can forgive sins, but He has placed the authority to give the conditions of forgiveness to His people. This is John’s version of the great commission.  Jesus is sending them out to preach the gospel which at its core is about forgiveness that God has made possible. The church has the authority to assure those who meet God’s conditions that they are forgiven, and the responsibility of being careful not to promise forgiveness when those conditions are not met.

The first condition is faith in Christ. The idea that I must be forgiven because God is a “forgiving God” is false. God is loving, and God is just, and in His love He sent His only begotten Son to pay the penalty His justice required, so that anyone who believed in Jesus would not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) There is no forgiveness outside of Christ, only justice for our sins.

The second condition for forgiveness is repentance. In the exact scene of our text above Luke records a more expansive version of what Jesus said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48) The church has no authority to offer forgiveness without repentance which means both a confession and a turning away from sins committed.

In the tradition I grew up in I was regularly told my sins were forgiven when in fact, they weren’t. I was living for myself and adding a little religion; that is not repentance. If we don’t repent and live for God, it doesn’t matter how much religion we add to our lives, we won’t be saved in the end.

Does God want us to live in fear? Absolutely not!  It’s His good pleasure to give us the kingdom. We just need to treat our forgiveness as something precious to be protected by a life that honors God, and not trampled on by a life that presumes that God has to forgive.

Posted in Acts, John, Mark

The Authority of the Believer

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”  John 14:12-14

One Monday morning I needed to meet someone for an early appointment, but I couldn’t leave without my cell phone and it was lost. I looked in all the usual places, but it wasn’t there. Everyone else was still sleeping and I certainly didn’t want to wake them up, but I could see no other alternative than calling my own number and letting it ring until I found it. I was stunned when after dialing l felt a vibration and heard a ring coming out of my own left pocket. 

Almost immediately after finding the “lost” phone in my pocket, I sensed the Lord whispering something in my thoughts: “This is how believers are with authority.” Think about it. We as believers are often looking for someone else who can pray for us. or deliver us or who can hear God for us, yet the authority to pray powerfully is already in us. Every believer already has the equipment connecting them to God’s voice and power in their hearts, it is God’s gift to us in Christ, but it doesn’t do much good if we don’t recognize that we have it.

God’s plan was that those who believe in Jesus would walk in the same authority as He did by using His Name. Jesus gave the first sign of those who believe: “In My Name they will cast out demons…” (Mark 16:17) Not the first sign following apostles, or pastors, or those who have walked with the Lord for at least 30 years; but the first sign following those who “believe.” The right to use Jesus’ Name is a privilege every one who believes in Him has been given.

Peter was very conscious of this authority when he replied to the lame man who begged him for money: “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!” (Acts 3:6) Are you conscious that you possess the authority of Jesus Name, or are you still looking around the kingdom to find someone else who has it?

Posted in Isaiah, John

Doing the Works of Redemption

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” John 9:4

The disciples were confronted with a man who had been born blind, so they wanted to seek a reason for this calamity. They asked Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents that he should be born blind?” Jesus replied that neither answer was right, “but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus didn’t dwell on those things that sin and Satan have brought into this world. His view was that all situations can be turned around and become a showcase for God’s redemption. He wants us to gain the same viewpoint.

Notice that He doesn’t say “I” must do the work, but “we.” He was modeling for His disciples the kind of works they would be doing after He was gone. A few chapters later He makes the same point in an even clearer way: “Truly, truly I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.” (John 14:12)

Jesus did two kinds of work while He was on planet earth: Isaiah 53 work and Isaiah 61 works. Isaiah 53:5 tells of the work He did on the cross for us: “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” This is finished work and it is work that only He could do. All we can do is receive that work and be grateful for the forgiveness of our sins.

Isaiah 61:1 tells of the works of His ministry by the anointing of the Holy Spirit: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners.” This work He began while He was on earth but would be carried on by His disciples under the anointing of the same Spirit. Jesus modeled this work for them and then commissioned them to allow Him to continue these same works through them.

The church today preaches Jesus’ finished work of Isaiah 53 but largely ignores our responsibility to practice the Isaiah 61 works. I believe God is changing that. He wants us to recognize in a greater way the power of the Holy Spirit in us, and He wants us to gain His viewpoint, so that we can join Him each day in the works of redemption.

Posted in 1Thessalonians, Acts

Judging Prophecy 

Posted on by Tom Flaherty

“Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.” 1Thessalonians 5:19-21

When we despise prophecy we quench the Holy Spirit. Prophecy is God speaking today directly into our lives and situations, so why would people who love God ever despise Him speaking to them?

Some people despise prophecy because they don’t think God speaks any more in that way. Today, they reason, God only speaks to us through the Bible so anybody who claims to hear God directly comes under suspicion. The problem with this is that the book of Acts is the New Testament church in action and God speaks directly all the time through visions, dreams, impressions, angels, and prophets. There are no Scriptures which indicate this type of prophetic activity would ever be withdrawn from the church except for a few verses that people quote horribly out of context. People that don’t believe God speaks today are arguing from their experience, or rather lack of experience, and not from the Bible.

Others despise prophecy because they have been burned by it. They’ve seen people use the phrase, “God told me,” to enforce their own agenda or to validate their own opinion in such a way that they are deeply suspicious of any prophetic experience. Some have been damaged by following a so-called “prophetic word” when it turned out to only be a person trying to be prophetic, and not God speaking at all. When you’ve been hurt in that way it is easy to harden your heart. 

My opinion is that if you don’t feel free to judge the prophetic you will end up despising it. Paul says to “examine everything carefully…” In the Old Testament prophecy came externally to those God appointed and the penalty for being wrong was death. New Testament prophecy, on the other hand, comes from the inside of a believer (where the Holy Spirit lives) and through our yet imperfect souls. Because of this reality we have to be discerning, but should never allow ourselves to become cynical. After Paul tells us to examine everything carefully, he tells us to “hold fast to that which is good.”

God loves us and He wants to speak to us. I pray we embrace the potential of hearing God today, and the freedom to exercise discernment so we don’t get trapped by anything that is not from the Spirit.