By David Ryser
Reality
is what exists in spite of what we believe.
(Patricia Hickman)
The vast majority of Christians
would agree that thieves will not enter the Kingdom of God. Stealing is wrong. Stealing is immoral. Stealing is wicked. Stealing is evil. Stealing is depraved. Stealing is degenerate. Stealing is perverted. Stealing is corrupt. Stealing is reprobate. Stealing is a sin.
Is it? Really?
Always?
Stealing is okay in baseball…. When a player steals a base in baseball, the
runner is awarded the advance of position without penalty. He is not called out for stealing the
base. He is not arrested and thrown into
jail for stealing the base. He is not
consigned to a fiery hell for eternity as punishment for stealing the base.
Why? Because stealing is allowed in baseball.
But stealing a base in a baseball
game must be done according to the rules.
A runner is not allowed to steal a base during a time out. A runner is not allowed to steal first
base. A runner is not allowed to steal a
base that is already occupied by another player. A runner is not allowed to advance to the
next base on a fly ball until after the ball is caught.
There are rules that govern
stealing in baseball. The penalty for
violating those rules varies with the infraction. A player must steal according to the rules.
Stealing is allowed in the Kingdom of God.
But it also must be done according to the rules. Examples abound in scripture. But for the sake of brevity, we will consider
only two of these.
The first is found in Luke
8:40-48. Jesus is approached by a
synagogue official by the name of Jairus.
The man’s daughter is seriously ill, and he begs Jesus to come and heal
her. Jesus agrees, and goes with Jairus
toward his house. Along the way, a woman
who is suffering from continuous bleeding comes up to Jesus and touches one of
the tassels on His prayer shawl. When
she does, she is instantly healed.
Jesus did not intend to heal this
woman. He had not agreed to heal
her. The Father had not authorized this
healing. Jesus didn’t even know the
woman was in the crowd, or that she had touched Him with the result of being
healed, until He felt the power of God flowing out of Him.
The woman stole a physical healing. The power of God to perform a healing was
operating in Jesus, as far as He knew, for the benefit of Jairus’ daughter. This woman’s faith and desperation tapped
into that power with miraculous results.
But the power that healed her was
not intended for her. She stole it.
In Matthew 15:21-28, Jesus is
approached by a Canaanite woman who asks Him to heal her daughter. He refuses, saying that He is sent only to
the people of Israel. When she continues to beg Him to heal her
daughter, Jesus responds by insulting her.
He calls her a dog (albeit a puppy). Undeterred,
she responds humbly to Jesus’ insult and receives the healing she had requested
for daughter.
That healing did not belong to
her. She stole it.
I was ministering in a series of
meetings at a church. At the first
evening service, I was under strict orders from God not to perform a lot of "spiritual tricks" for the amusement of the crowd. Since I play to an audience of One, I obeyed
and ministered God’s power only to the person He pointed out to me. After the service I was visiting with one of
the young men at the back of the church and greeting the people as they were
leaving the building. One of the ladies
of the congregation came by. As I took
her hand, the power of God fell on her, and she did a face-plant onto the
floor. I’m telling you, God blew her up!
And I thought, “You stinker! You stole that! Good for you!”
You see, when I was an instructor
at a school of ministry a number of years ago, I taught the students how to
steal. I told them what to look for
during the church service so they would recognize an opportunity to steal God’s
power and blessing when the person for whom it was intended didn’t want it and
refused to receive it. I taught them how
to steal when God didn’t intend to give them anything.
The key is desperation,
persistence, and faith.
And we had a lot of opportunities
to practice. Unlike the schools I had
attended, God would show up in our classes.
His presence would blow into the room, and He would begin to say and do
things in our midst. We would tremble in
His presence; it was so strong. Powerful
(and genuine) prophetic words would be given.
People would receive remarkable touches from God. And, inevitably, one of the students would be
left out…the same one…every time.
I felt so sorry for her.
People all around her were
receiving powerful ministry from God.
And she would be standing there, her beautiful brown Bambi eyes
expressing her hunger for God and desire to experience His touch along with her
classmates. Looking at her as she stood
there for several minutes waiting for God to touch her broke my heart, but I
could not minister God’s power to her without His approval.
So why did God leave her out? Did He love her less than the others? Did He not want to touch her? No, He was teaching her how to steal.
Because after all of the ministry of
God’s power was finished, and the moving of the Spirit began to wane, she would
still be standing there. Everyone else
was already back in their seats…or on the floor. And she would stay right where she was. This would go on for what seemed like forever. I had nothing for her, but I felt no release
from God to resume class. Finally God
would speak to me. I would take her hand
and say something like, “Take it.”
And God would blow her up. And she learned to steal. Because stealing is allowed in the Kingdom of God…if you steal according to the rules.
By the way, I finally did receive a
prophetic word for this young lady. I
got it the night before class, and I was so excited! I couldn’t wait to get to class and give it
to her. When I arrived at the school, I
looked for her.
She was absent!
What did I do with that word? WWJD?
The next time the prophetic anointing of God was flowing in the class, I
gave it to her. Duh….
Responses to this article are
welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com
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