The Healing of the Woman Bent Over For 18 Years

Dear Brethren, Family, and Friends,

Here is a recording of a Bible  lesson that I taught my own children (11-year-old triplets) recently. 

The upbringing of the boys is according to the Scripture. We are supposed to "bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4 NIV) It is a full-time job, to say the least, because I also homeschool them under an umbrella private Christian school.  

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 NKJV)

I know some things about training. I trained in martial arts from the age of 11. I was a black belt in three different arts, was owner-operator and instructor of my own martial arts school. I continue to practice today, though to a lesser degree. Here is the thing about martial arts. It is impossible to get good at martial arts if you practice only once a month. Practice should be daily or at least 5 days a week. That means you will need classes with a good instructor and some practice should be done on your own. 

Training, training, and more training and instruction in the things of God are no different, except that they have an eternal value compared to a temporary one that comes from physical training. That does not do away with the importance of physical training, but physical training, as the Greek text states, lasts for a little while. 

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8 NIV)

I teach, instruct, and live the Christian life before my boys. Godliness is in our home. They don't just hear about walking with the Lord, but they see it daily. I am not perfect, and sometimes I make mistakes, but I have no problem with apologizing and asking for forgiveness when I goof up.

The boys are mostly quick to forgive. There have been some real big challenges with forgiveness for other people because they were hurt and betrayed by them. They learn every day that forgiveness is a whole lot better than holding a grudge or desiring revenge. Forgiveness sets one up to be forgiven, and to get your prayers answered.  

Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:24, 25 NIV)

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:17-19 NIV)

There is no excuse for not teaching the Word and living it before your children. It is a parental responsibility, and it is one that affects children throughout their lives on earth. As I have mentioned before, I was negligent in that responsibility because of disobedience with other children (now adults). Thank God for God's forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness. Up until the youngest of them was around 9 years old, they all got some spiritual training, and after I repented in 1999, and started coming back into my calling, I preached to all of them the salvation message. Now it's on them to decide to follow Jesus or not. 

The 11-year-old triplets are another story, and the start of restoration where raising children are concerned. They have been around the Word and the things of the Holy Spirit since they were born. Satan did his best to steal, kill, and destroy their upbringing. He shot his best shots and failed! Thank the Lord for His goodness and mercy that endure forever! 

The other extremely important side of training children is having your children attend an anointed church consistently. Take them to a dead church with little power in God, and they will never grow in the things of God. The deadness there will cause them to be dead to the real things of God. As they get older, they will see the traditional hogwash and powerlessness, and they will rebel against it. That is almost guaranteed.

The church we attend is a mightily anointed church where the Word is taught and preached, and the Lord shows up in manifestation at every service (1 Corinthians 2:4). People receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, people are delivered, healed, blessed, and much more. There are good friends and family in the Lord that we interact with at church. There are mature examples of what a godly home, business, and life should look like, and every time we attend, we are saturated in His presence.

From my living room-classroom to your doorstep! Special delivery and it is good! Listen to the recording. Sometimes you will hear the boys in the background. This is how I teach them on a consistent basis. I don't sugar coat anything and they hear the Word as it is written. I also don't preach to them on a lower level. Nothing is watered down to their level. It is a mistake to try to water down the Word to a level of what one thinks is suitable for a child. No milky toast stuff here, but the pure and unadulterated Word of God! That is what children need.

Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. (Proverbs 4:1-6 NIV)

My dear family, friends, and other brethren in the Lord, enjoy and be blessed by this 27-minute message on the woman that was bent over for 18 years. The passage is from Luke 13. Yes, look up the Scriptures taught that morning. The boys looked up every verse I mentioned. That is the thing to do. Check out what is being said. Is it in line with Scripture? Is it in context? Is the truth according to the Scripture?

Judge things according to the Word. Never judge things according to a vision, a revelation, or even some supposed supernatural event. Here is the question to always ask: "Does the experience, vision, or revelation line up with the Spirit and letter of the Scripture?" If it does, then it is good and it is of God. If it doesn't, then it MUST be discarded because it is Satan's deception even if it appears as an angel of light. 

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14 NIV)

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! (Galatians 1:8-9 NIV)

Even if it is a word from a supposed angelic being, if it violates the Spirit and letter of Scripture, discard it because it is under a curse! It was a demon masquerading as an angel of light!

How many errors and crazy ideas could be and would be avoided if people knew what the Word said about it? MANY! I have heard some real whoppers of idiocy and utter foolishness out of folks that could have easily been avoided if they judged their supposed revelation, vision, or knowledge by the Word. The Word of God is our rule. It will distinguish between a spirit of truth or a spirit of error. Jesus said that God's Word is truth and that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. (John 17:17, 16:13, 15:26) 

Jesus stated in John 17:17 that the truth or God's Word would sanctify us. That means that God's Word will separate us from the devil's errors and lies, and his evil works . The Word will keep us hooked into holiness, especially if it becomes our rule for living. 

If it is not in line with the Spirit of God and the Word, then get rid of it immediately! There are NO exceptions to this Bible rule. Remember that always.  

One of the major problems in Christendom is the sheer ignorance of Scripture among so many. How are believers going to distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error if their knowledge of the Bible is meager? They can't, and they are easy to deceive. That is why each believer needs to be taught the Word at their church and learn to study it on their own. Actually, each member should look up the Scriptures taught at their church and check out each message with the Bible. 

Verify if it is the truth! Scripture is interpreted with more Scripture on the same subject. If it is a Bible truth, then you will find the bare minimum of 2 or 3 other Scriptures that prove it clearly.

By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established. (2 Corinthians 13:1 NKJV)

You have to really pay strict attention to these truths to stay out of error and flaky doctrines. Satan can sometimes attempt to use a Scripture reference he twists to deceive people. He tried that with Jesus at the mount of temptation. The devil quoted a fragment of Scripture about angelic protection. He used it to tempt Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple to prove He was the Son of God. Jesus countered by quoting a Scripture verse from Deuteronomy that forbids us from tempting the Lord God. (Luke 4:1-13)

Again, that is why Scripture must be interpretwd with other Scripture.

Daily reading is a huge part of learning the Scripture. If I don't read my Bible on a particular morning, I play a Bible app for a few hours. Sometimes it goes through the New Testament in a day. Other times, I will let it play in the Old Testament. Sometimes I only get an hour of reading or listening to the Word, but that goes a long way. That is the ONLY way to have a clue as to what you are dealing with, and what to do about it. 

Blessings on all of you,

Dan A. Rodriguez