HEALING is a
subject that is so misunderstood. It’s a subject which is erroneously taught in
pulpits everywhere and the fallout from this is enormous. Sickness and disease are
rampant in our world and every time we turn on the TV we are enticed by drug
companies trying to solve our problems for us, but with the promise of a myriad
of intolerable side effects. Clinics and
hospitals are overrun with patients and there are people everywhere dying at young
ages, far before their time.
If you have ever been sick, which has been virtually all of
us, you know the need and desire within your core being to be well. Most people
will do just about anything to be healed and I have seen all kinds of
treatments and so-called “cures” out there. At one time in my life I had tried
many of those things myself…
God wants you to know that He has the answers that you are
looking for. Everything you desire in this life can be found in Him. Healing
can be found in Him. Restoration of your marriage can be found in Him. The
answers to your financial problems can be found in Him. Whatever is hurting you
today or keeping you in bondage, God is able and willing to help you. But the key to receiving His help first comes
in knowing who He really is and what He provided for you through the
death of Jesus Christ…
Over the years I have ministered to people who could
have received God’s best for their lives, but because of wrong ideas, perhaps
from their own delusions or from their church or from friends, they failed to
see the promises in The Word manifest in their lives. They had one foot in the world and one foot
on the Word. They were riding the fence with their beliefs. The Bible says, “But when you ask him, be sure
that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided
loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the
wind. Such people should not expect to
receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the
world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” - James 1: 6-8.
I remember one summer afternoon I was in a store checking
out at the counter and I noticed a woman who was bent over and obviously in
some distress. It looked to me as if she had some form of arthritis. The Lord
quickened to me that He wanted me to pray for this woman. When I saw her in the
parking lot, I told her that I was a minister and prayed for people who were
sick and she immediately put a huge wall up between us and said, “Oh, I have
friends that pray for me all the time. You don’t need to pray for me.” I told her that Jesus Christ wanted her to be
well and that He took her sickness on the cross for her. Anger started welling up inside of her and
she very strongly retorted, “I don’t believe that Jesus died for our
sicknesses! The only thing that Jesus did for me was to give me salvation!” And with that, she shut her door and drove
off before I could utter another word. I just stood there, watching her pull
away, leaving empty handed of the tremendous blessing that the Lord wanted to
give her.
I went back to my car and I cried out to God, “What just
happened?” Later on that day the Lord
let me know that no matter how people respond when being ministered to, I am
still His servant and I am to be obedient to His commands. Some people are
going to reject the gifts that Jesus came to give us, and others are going to
embrace the truth with open arms and a receptive heart. It really is a choice that all of us must
make. It’s a choice to believe God and His truths…just as it is a choice to
believe our own ways…
PART 2
In order for us to really understand healing and how God has
provided this for us, we have to understand the character of God. We must find
out who He is. Most Christians out
there, unfortunately, believe that God makes them sick or delivers tragedy to
them. And those same Christians are the ones who are first in the prayer lines
so that they can be healed and have all their problems vanish. They are cursing
God out of one corner of their mouths and begging Him for help out of the other
corner. This goes back again to James 1 that I wrote about last time, talking
about being “double minded and unstable.”
I am here to tell you that God is not your problem ….He is your answer!
When Jesus ministered on this earth he did not give sickness to anyone.
If someone is telling you that God is giving you sickness…if your church
is telling you this…reject it. It isn’t the truth. If you believe God is the cause
of your sickness and that He is trying to teach you something by giving you a
sickness or problem, then why are you praying to Him to have Him remove it? Do
you see how this line of thinking makes no sense at all?
So what is God’s character? Who is God? If we read the Bible from cover to cover with
an open heart and truly seek His Wisdom in prayer, we will understand who God
is. Let me give you some scriptures that indicate to us the nature of God…
“God sent His Word and healed me, and delivered me from destruction.” (Psalm
107:20)
“The Lord has taken away from me all sickness.” (Deuteronomy
7:15)
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who
forgives all my iniquities, Who heals all my diseases, Who redeems my life from
destruction, Who crowns me with loving-kindness and tender mercies, Who
satisfies my mouth with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the
eagle's.” (Psalm 103:2-5)
“I have come to give you life
and life more abundantly”. (John 10:10)
“For I know the plans I have
for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ...” (Jeremiah
29:11-13)
"I Am the Lord Who heals you." (Exodus 15:26)
“Every good and perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not
change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
Now, does this sound like God is mad at us and want to inflict
us with pain and misery? I don’t think so! During this dispensation…during
these 2000 years since Jesus went to the cross… this is a time of grace and
mercy. It’s a time to walk in all the
promises of God and to receive what was provided for us when Jesus shed his
blood on Calvary.
In 1 Peter 2:24, here is an account of Peter looking back at the cross and this verse says,
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
This word “healed” in the Hebrew is translated “to cure, or
to make whole”. Peter’s intent here is
to show that Jesus wants to heal us mentally, psychologically, physically and
spiritually. This is wholeness.
Jesus didn’t die solely for the opportunity to be with him in heaven someday.
He provided a way of escape in the here and now! We need to get a hold of this valuable
truth. Our healing was accomplished on
the cross. It’s done!! We are already healed, and if we are struggling in an
area of our lives, then it’s our circumstances which are not lining up with the
Word. It’s not any lack on God’s part. We must believe what the Word says even though
we are not experiencing the manifestation in our lives right now. The Bible
tells us to “walk by faith and not by sight.”
So if anyone tells you that Jesus did not die for your
sicknesses or your troubles….as that woman in the parking lot vehemently tried
to proclaim… and that God did not lay all sickness, sin, and every evil curse
on His body so that we could be whole, don’t fall for it!! The truth is in the Word. Look for yourself.
But don’t allow anyone to talk you out of what God has already provided for
you. Your confession of faith today
should be, “By His Stripes, I AM HEALED.”
Part 3
In last month’s article, I continued teaching about the
character of God and I want to finish up with this topic today.
So often when I counsel people who are having health issues,
invariably they will say to me, “Why is God doing this to me?” In their minds, God is this big bully sitting
on His throne in heaven, zapping us with bolts of fire. This idea,
unfortunately, is taught in many churches, and is perpetuated in the movies and
on television. The truth is that God is a good
God and He wants nothing but the best for His children…
“For I know the plans I
have for you,” declares the
LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ...” (Jeremiah
29:11-13)
There are many reasons why people do not receive their
healing. In fact, there are at least thirty Biblical roadblocks to healing. I
call them “clogs in the hose”. But one
of those roadblocks is not the idea that God is causing
the problem, nor is he preventing people from receiving the answers to their
prayers. It’s time that we took some personal responsibility and stop using God
as a scapegoat.
Jesus paid the price
for our healing. It was already accomplished two thousand years ago. God
sovereignly chose to lay sickness and disease on Jesus so that we would not
have to suffer with it in our bodies now. Every horrible disease…past, present
and future…was put upon Jesus. Most of us, when we get a little sniffle or come
down with the flu, think that we are literally dying. But can you dare to
imagine for one moment having to suffer the pain and torment of Aids,
Parkinson’s disease, cancer, arthritis, and every other sickness that anyone
has ever had in the history of man…all at one time? It’s really beyond our
human comprehension so we have to receive this knowledge spiritually by faith.
Jesus, out of His love for you and for me, suffered
excruciating torment on that cross so that we could walk free in spirit, soul,
and body. He loved us that much and He still loves us today. How many of us cast aside this truth that
could provide a way of escape for us in our present conditions? Sadly, most
people make the choice to reject this precious gift that Jesus freely and
lovingly gave us.
I think about the passages in Mark 5 that tell the story of
the woman with the issue of blood. She had heard about Jesus and His miracles
and when she heard, she made a choice to believe. Suffering in her body for
twelve long years and seeking doctors to no avail, she boldly pressed through
the crowd, and with her undaunted faith, touched the hem of his garment. Jesus
immediately felt healing virtue flow out of Him and asked, “Who touched Me?” There were scores of people touching Him…but
only one out of this whole crowd, touched Him in genuine faith, believing who
He said He was. This whole story is an
accurate representation of the world today. Many are seeking Jesus. Many know
who He is and would love to get His autograph if He were here walking among us,
but how many are really coming to Him in faith? The answer to that question is “very
few”.
One of the things that most Christians do not understand is
that God is able and willing every time to answer our prayers.
But He does expect some things from us. He expects us to believe what He says,
unequivocally. He expects us to put His Word first in our lives, above the
words of the doctors, the media, and of the world. He expects us to speak words of Faith instead
of words of doubt. In fact, there is a wonderful scripture that is the key to
receiving the answers to any of our prayers…
“If you abide in me and my words
abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done unto you.” – John
15:7
Let’s think seriously about this. Are we “abiding” in Him? In other words, are
we making our home with Him on a daily basis? Is He the most important part of
our lives and are we sold out for His teachings? Are we confessing His Word
over our lives and staying in faith? If
we are doing these things, then He says to ask “whatever” and we shall see the answers to our prayers manifest…
Know that God is good. The Bible says…He is El-Shaddai – The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of
His People. He is Jehovah-Jirah
– Our
Provider. And He is Jehovah-Rapha – Our Healer…
So make a choice today to receive everything that He died to
give you. It will be the wisest choice you have ever made…
copyright. 2009. Words To Heart Ministries. Pastor Kimberly Lemler.
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