Pastor Virgil March Update

Moving Christians from the pew to the harvest.” Matthew 9:36-38

March 20, 2024

Be healed!

While in Hermosillo for our recent classes, I had an interesting experience. After three days of ministering to our students and pastors, I was scheduled to preach at La Senda Antigua on Sunday morning. The Lord had led me to preach on the healing of the paralytic in Luke chapter 5, and I went to bed Saturday night meditating on the power of God to heal and forgive.

At about 11:00 I was awakened by a searing pain in my left calf. It was like a huge cramp only with fire attached. The burning and cramping engulfed my entire calf. I got out of bed but could not walk. I began praying in tongues and speaking Isaiah 53:5 out loud. As I did this, my mind began to fill with all kinds of crazy thoughts: “You didn’t eat right. You brought this on yourself.” “You are 75 years old. You should expect your body to fail. God can’t heal old age.” “Remember your father? He had those blood clots that almost killed him.” “You’re in Mexico. You better call Pastor John and see if he can drive you back to Tucson to the emergency room.”

I flopped into a chair and began speaking to the pain. “Pain, leave. I am healed by the stripes of Jesus.” The pain eased a bit. I put some heat on it, and said, “I am going to preach the Gospel in the morning. I am healed. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s. My God gives His beloved sleep. I am going back to bed.” I hopped back to the bed and went to sleep. When I woke up I was pain-free. We had wonderful church the next morning and God moved to heal many.

Here’s the point: God wants us healed. The devil wants us to be sick. He certainly doesn’t want us to preach healing to others. So many folks lose the battle because they doubt God’s will to heal. Not in a general way, but specifically for themselves. They know their own shortcomings. The world is constantly telling them all the reasons why they should be sick. The devil is the accuser, and he accuses all of us of deserving to be sick, depressed, and useless. Jesus didn’t die so I could get what I deserve. He died so I could get what He bought. With that in mind, I want to share just one excerpt from our “Healing Help” series. Read it. Share it. Believe it. God wants you whole:

“My belief in the will of God to heal is unshakeable. I have been healed of so many things I lose count. I have prayed for folks who experienced documented healings. Most importantly, I see it in the Bible. Yet my most difficult moments are in trying to comfort those who have lost a loved one, or encourage those facing a deadly diagnosis. They feel many understandable emotions: guilt, anger, despair, fear, etc. “How could God allow this? Did I do something wrong? What else could I have done? Is God really who I thought He was? If He let grandma die, can I believe Him in my battle?” You get the point.

My heart’s desire is to have substantive, compassionate answers for those faced with terrible loss and disappointment when healing doesn’t come. I also want to have input beyond memorized formulas that will help people receive the healing God wants for them. I want you to be healed. As a good place to start, here are some things I know beyond a doubt. You can bank on the fact that:

  • God didn’t do it. John 10:10
  • We live in a cursed world because of Adam. Romans 5:12
  • We don’t know everything. 1 Corinthians 13:12
  • God will give us more wisdom if we ask. Ephesians 1:16-18
  • We live on what we do know and trust the rest to God. Deuteronomy 29:29

“Gee, some things we just don’t know,” may seem cold comfort when dealing with someone in the throes of grief or serious illness. In those times, the best we can do is pray, make ourselves available, and try to avoid giving them our canned theological interpretation of their tragedy. Save your preaching, give your compassion. Listen to what they say and locate where they are, then speak into the need if you know how. If they are able to hear, give them prayer that is not a recitation but an inspiration. Carry them on your faith until theirs can be shored up. I believe God wants us to get better at finding the best responses to the needs of people. Let’s let God fill in the holes in our doctrine.”

(Healing Help 1; pastorvirgil.com January 4, 2020)

If you or someone you know is struggling with healing, take a look at the Healing Help series on pastorvirgil.com. There is also a series of videos of approximately 10 minutes each on Faith Chrisitan Fellowship’s YouTube channel. God wants you healed, and so do I.

Hermosillo report: Pastor John Smith and I journeyed to Hermosillo, Sonora March 7-11. The first 2 nights we taught the first half of the course called “Church Government.” I know that sounds a bit dull, but when we’re dealing with pastors and church leaders, it’s quite important. There are many different ideas on the subject. Although the Bible does not give explicit instructions, it does have some very important principles that we want to be sure to follow. I thought our attendance might drop because of the theme, but I was wrong. We had a steady and hungry group of about 40 each night. God is growing us, individually and corporately.

Saturday morning we had our Pastors’ Breakfast where we talked about finding your own gifts and learning to use them to fulfill your calling. Many ministers spend their entire lives trying to imitate others whom they see as models of how ministry should be done. The ministry of the pastor is to lead, feed, and protect the flock. While the job is the same, the tools God gives each one will vary. The pastor can be gifted in many different ways. Some are prophetically gifted, some are teachers, or exhorters, or givers, etc. I am always better when I am flowing in my gift, not trying to imitate yours.

Sunday morning we split up. Pastor John was at Amistad de Los Olivos and I was at La Senda Antigua. I particularly love these opportunities to visit the individual churches and get to know the flavor in each house. They are all wonderfully different. Thanks to Pastor David Y Marta Aleman of La Senda and to Pastors Martin Y Rosa Leal of Los Olivos for hosting us.

I’ll be returning May 16th to teach the rest of the course.

Books updates: The fourth edition of“Is There an Interpreter in the House?”is being prepared. It will be available on Amazon Kindle. It seems that this little book is making another round with a new generation of ministers who want to keep the flow of the Spirit alive in the church. God does not need a band or a light show to move His Spirit. He does, however, need men and women who know His voice and yield to His leading. Praise God for hungry hearts!

Thank You!: You make it possible for us to continue building people of substance for works of power. I have several things in my heart that I want to complete, including some new books. Your steady support gives me the opportunity to get that done. Thank you, again.

Financial support can be sent to Faith Christian Fellowship of Tucson at the address below or given online at www.fcftucson.org. Make checks payable to FCFT and designate missions or pastorvirgil and it will get where it needs to go.

Here are some things you can do to help:

Look up, it’s miracle time!

Virgil and Judy Stokes

3141 W. Ironwood Hill Dr.

Tucson AZ, 85745

520-792-3238

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