I am recording this message while I am sick. I am not feeling well. I injured myself. It has been a daily climb to feel better. I am writing this message during this time because a lot of people, when they feel sick and down, are unable to proclaim and stand in the promises of God because they don’t see those promises occurring in their lives at that given time. It’s easy to preach, speak, and write about the power of God when you are walking in it or after a miracle has happened—like after you have prayed for someone who couldn’t walk and then they walk or if they were blind and now they see. It is easy to preach out of a victory. It’s easy to see God’s power because you have walked in it and have experienced it. I have walked in it and experienced it. At this given time, I am not operating in it fully in the physical. That is the reason why I chose this timing to share this message.
My circumstances should never have any impact on who I believe God is. What I am personally battling and the outcome of it don’t dictate the goodness of God. When the Bible says that Jesus was marred beyond human likeness for our sins, our sicknesses, or our infirmities, as it says in Isaiah 52, it means the work that needed to be done for us to know Him fully and walk in divine health and freedom from sin was all completed at the time He died on the cross and rose again. It was finished work.
So much of religion today is, “Hey, body of Christ, you go out and finish the work because it is not finished yet.” If you know the work is finished and you understand your position in that finished work, the difference when you enter the battle is amazing. See, religion says, “Finish it,” but Jesus says, “It is finished.” Religion says, “Do it,” and Jesus says, “I have done it.”
For me, at this time when I am not fully recovered, many people look on and say, “Well, why isn’t God healing Sheri? Is it God’s will to heal Sheri right now? Maybe He is putting her through the test. Maybe He has allowed this suffering for some greater good.” Many people are questioning because they know where I stand and they know what I preach every day. So they are questioning, “Why isn’t she healed immediately? She’s a girl who believes in miracles. She’s the girl who preaches it in our town. She’s the one who prays for it constantly and raises up youth.” My question to you is: Why would I not be a target? Why would I not be a target of the enemy who would come in and try to kill me, destroy me, and destroy my testimony and my witness?
God is who He says He is. He is good all the time. He is not the author of evil. He is not out trying to destroy me. He is not forming weapons against me to take me out; rather He is actually putting angels around me to guard me. His heart’s desire is to see me and everyone else prosper because He is no respecter of persons. He is directing me, whispering to me, and telling me what to do. It’s my choice whether or not I listen and allow Him to be in control of my life. That is my choice. That is my decision.
At some point, when you finally decide you truly believe God is good and wants to heal every single time—which is His heart’s desire—you have to come to the conclusion that no matter your circumstance, regardless of how you feel, regardless of what is going on inside your physical body, you believe God. I believe He is a healer. I believe His power is mighty—mightier than any doctor, any tool, or any weapon on this earth. I believe that. You have to come to a place where you are resolute and there is no circumstance that can come against you that can change your mind. That is half the victory right there. Half the victory we can walk in is believing in God regardless.
At some point, when you finally decide you truly believe God is good and wants to heal every single time—which is His heart’s desire—you have to come to the conclusion that no matter your circumstance, regardless of how you feel, regardless of what is going on inside your physical body, you believe God. I believe He is a healer. I believe His power is mighty—mightier than any doctor, any tool, or any weapon on this earth. I believe that. You have to come to a place where you are resolute and there is no circumstance that can come against you that can change your mind. That is half the victory right there. Half the victory we can walk in is believing in God regardless.
I can celebrate my healing before it actually manifests in my body because I know God is a healer. I know God is for me. I’m not double-minded, doubting. “Well, maybe God wanted to use this for His good. Maybe God wants me to keep this. Maybe God doesn’t ever want me to be one hundred percent again. Maybe God intended my body to be hurt and wounded for the rest of my life” or “Maybe God wants me well.”
“A double minded man is unstable,” James says. He is literally tossed to and fro. You can hear when people who preach or speak are double-minded because they are not sure if God called them to suffer or God called them to thrive. They are truly never sure. You can hear it. When they are sick, maybe God called them to suffer. When they are healed, God called them to walk in miracles.
God does not change His mind. I am one hundred percent on that. He does not change His mind. He is not a God who is going to put sickness on you and then take it away because He has changed His mind. He does not change His mind. I am one hundred percent resolute on the fact that God is a healer. He wants to heal every single time. He is not the gatekeeper, asking the devil to come in and torment me. The devil has his reign on this earth until Jesus comes again. I have the right and the command by God to submit myself to God first and then resist the devil. God never takes the devil out of your life. You are given the power and authority to trample on him and to resist him. When you resist him, he will flee.
When you are double-minded, sometimes you stop resisting. You put down your barrier and think, “Well, maybe this is something I am supposed to receive. Maybe it’s something I am supposed to keep. Maybe God wanted me to have this.” All of a sudden, you are weak-minded. You are weak-willed. You don’t know what God wants for you. If you are not one hundred percent sure, you cannot stand on it. It is unstable ground. I know because I have been there. I have lived on unstable ground. In 2003, I was unstable. I wasn’t sure. “Is this from God or not? Does God want to fix this or not?” I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you seek Him, everything will be added unto you. I have sought Him night and day, day and night, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt His will for me is good.
In this time when I am not one hundred percent, I can tell you with complete resolve that Jesus finished the work. The power needed to heal your body, your finances, your marriage, or your porn addiction was provided a long time ago. God does not try to muster up the power to try to heal you or fix you, and He is not in heaven trying to decide whether you are worthy of being healed. You are the righteousness of Christ. You are worthy. You were worthy when He sent Christ to die for you. You were deemed worthy. You were marked. You have been trademarked by God with His Holy Spirit, which He has deposited into you. The same power that raised Christ from the dead marks you. You have been trademarked with the name and life of Jesus Christ. His name is above every name. It is either above every name or not above any name. The Bible says it is above every name on earth and in heaven. Every name. There is no name that can be named that is above Jesus. Injury, pain, rejection, or loneliness—Jesus’ name is above every one of those names.
While my body may not be one hundred percent, I can tell you my spirit is strong. It is stronger than ever because it is the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead. It cannot be tainted; it cannot be undone. That spirit gives me life. It gives me health. I am commanding my body to receive from that spirit and power that is already in me. I am commanding my body to stop ignoring the power of God already floating around in me. I am commanding it into every cell of my being, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
I am praising God. I praise the Father who gave me life and put life in me, who gave me authority to trample on serpents, scorpions, and the thief who tries to steal, kill, and destroy me. I am praising God for His life and His abundance. I can praise Him.
In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat was about to go into battle, and God said, “This isn’t your battle. You don’t even have to do anything.” All they did was go out and praise. They praised the Lord, and the enemy was confused. There is power in praise. We need to know and understand that. When we know the work is finished, we can praise. We can praise God in all things, at all times, because we know for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He is for us. We are not double-minded.
No matter what is going on in your life, you need to be able to identify it as a fact but not as a truth. The truth in God’s word trumps facts every single time, one hundred percent of the time. But if you don’t know that, you won’t stand on it, and you will actually submit and surrender to pain, poverty, and a life of loneliness and maybe even suicide. It is because you don’t know.
The Bible says we have everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of God. Paul didn’t pray that we would have more of God. I hear people say this all the time: “I want more of You, God. I want more power. I want more of You in my life, God.” It’s impossible to have more when you have the fullness already. But see, people didn’t know that. Paul didn’t pray that we would get more in Ephesians 1. In Ephesians 1:17, he prayed we would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know what we have already. That is what he prayed for the body of Christ—not that they would have more but that they would know the more they already have. We have more, but you don’t know it.
“It’s for lack of knowledge that people perish.” This is why we perish. It is because we don’t know. We are clueless to what we have because we aren’t seeking God for ourselves. We are seeking God through other people who supposedly know more than we do. But you cannot stand firmly on anyone’s revelation but your own. I can tell you, I can stand firm right now because it’s my revelation from God.
The Bible says that when the Holy Spirit comes, we no longer need a teacher because the teacher lives in us. If you are relying on a teacher to give you truth, then you are not listening to the source Himself, the Holy Spirit, who wants to teach you, who has the truth for you, and who has a special word just for you. You can’t get that from anyone else.
Jesus gave you a better gift, which is the Holy Spirit. He gave you that gift. Maybe you are not using it to the fullest to know who God truly is. You cannot go into a battle unsure of God, His character, and who He is and remain stable and come out victorious. You have to be resolute, sure in your mind, and unashamedly believing in the power of Jesus regardless of how you feel. People will look at you and think you are an idiot. They will judge you. They will label you. They will talk behind your back about how terrible you are doing though you are believing. “She won’t do this. She won’t do that. She needs to do this.” They are going to have opinions. Isaiah 54:17 says those are all weapons. Words are weapons. They are either life or death. They are weapons being formed against you. But they cannot prosper.
You are to condemn every single weapon formed against you. If somebody speaks ugly of you, break it. Say, “I break it in the name of Jesus.” I will be healed in Jesus’ name because Jesus provided the healing power already. He is for me. He has already healed whole crowds. If I am not being healed, maybe I am not a good receiver. Maybe I am wishy-washy.
Maybe I need to seek the heart of God more and ask Him, “Holy Spirit, tell me why I am not receiving healing. I know You are good, and I know You are for me.” Or tell Him, “God, I don’t really know You, and honestly I am that person being tossed to and fro. I am not truly sure what Your will is here. Can You teach me? Will You show me Your ways, God? I want to know You for myself. I don’t want to know You through Sheri Yates or anyone else for that matter. I want to know You for me. I want to know because I want my ground to be so solid that no matter what I come against, I can stand firm in it. I do not want to be moved by mountains that come against me. I want to move mountains. I am a mountain slayer in the name of Jesus.
“God, I know You have equipped me and called me to do these things. I know You are for me, beyond a shadow of a doubt. I know You work out things for good. I am asking You, Lord, to teach me. Show me Your good and pleasing will. Show me so I can know and I can minister to others, so my life would bring You glory, so You would be glorified in everything I do and every word I speak, so I would be firmly planted and people would know You are my God and they would want to know You. May many come to know You better because of the power You put on display through my life—in Jesus’ name.”
“God, I know You have equipped me and called me to do these things. I know You are for me, beyond a shadow of a doubt. I know You work out things for good. I am asking You, Lord, to teach me. Show me Your good and pleasing will. Show me so I can know and I can minister to others, so my life would bring You glory, so You would be glorified in everything I do and every word I speak, so I would be firmly planted and people would know You are my God and they would want to know You. May many come to know You better because of the power You put on display through my life—in Jesus’ name.”
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