Today, there are hundreds of thousands of people who suffer from sickness and disease. The average preacher and teacher do little but stand by offering words of sympathy and pity. Some go as far to assure their people that it's God's will for them to be sick and that God somehow is drawing them closer to him by this sickness.Some say that God is teaching them a lesson in humility and those things will work out for the best through this sickness.Today, even more so than in the past; in spite of our technological advances, God's people are still being destroyed because of a lack of knowledge.
Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
The word controversy means a dispute. It is a word that is also used for a case at law. God was bringing charges against the children of Israel. He was charging them with no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. God has gone to great lengths throughout history to provide his chosen ones with knowledge of his will. Somewhere along the way Israel had lost that which was most important to themselves as people and a nation namely the knowledge of God.
Psalm 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
God sent his word to heal his people.
Proverbs 4:20-22 20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
The Hebrew word rendered health means medicine.
Exodus 23:25-26 25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 26There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
Here the promise of God was to take sickness away from the midst of them. Please note God did not say he would place sickness in their midst to humble them or prove them. He goes on to state that the number of their days would be fulfilled. In other words they would live a long and healthy life.
Exodus 15:26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
Until you are fully convinced that God wants you completely healed and whole, there will always be a doubt in your mind as to whether or not you will be healed. As long as there is a doubt in your mind, faith cannot be exercised to be healed.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
When we come to God we must come to him on his terms these terms can only be found in his word.
James 1:6-8 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
We must be convinced that God's word is absolutely true. Does God speak the truth or not?
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
There has never been one word that has failed from the mouth of God.
Psalm 119:89-90a 89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. 90aThy faithfulness is unto all generations:…Jeremiah 1:12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
The word rendered hasten means to watch over or standing behind. God is standing behind his word to perform it. Can you find anywhere in the bible where God has broken his promises?
Exodus 12:37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.
There were many thousands of woman and children not mentioned here along with the thousands who were.
Psalm 105:37 He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
Of the thousands of people, there was not among their tribes one feeble person. That's a lot of people. All that were in need of healing believed his word and everyone who needed healing got healed. Every person got delivered who needed deliverance. Not one feeble, not one weak, and not one sick person was missed. If this was true of Israel under the law, how much more should it be for us under grace? Healing is for you. It's Gods will for you to be healed. God wants every one of us well and strong. When we meet his conditions and believe His word we receive. If there is a justified maybe in your case, then there could be a justified maybe in every case because God is no respecter of people. Acts 10:34. If God will heal anyone then he will heal you.
Exodus 15:26b ...for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
Some in the church have endeavored to change I am to I was the Lord that healeth. If under the old covenant thousands were healed and well at one time how much better and more should we be well and healed under the new and better covenant with better promises?
Hebrews 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
We have a more excellent ministry through Jesus Christ built upon a better covenant and established upon better promises.
Hebrews 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Every thing Jesus did for mankind was a revelation of God's will for mankind. This means the healing that Jesus did was done as a revelation of God's will for man. This means we should never pray "if it be thy will…"when it comes to healing. How can you pray the prayer of faith if you pray "if it be thy will?"
In all the records in God's word there is only one I can think of where the will of God was questioned in the life of Jesus Christ regarding healing.
Mark 1:40-41 40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 41And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
The first thing Jesus did was answer the question once and for all by saying "I will." This should settle this question for ever. If God will to heal one then he will to heal all for he is no respecter of persons.
Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.Matthew 12:15 But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; Matthew 14:36 And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole. Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all. Matthew 8:16-17 16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: 17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
Christ is still healing the sick .You are included in the (our) of Matthew 8:17
Psalm 89:34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
God will not alter his word concerning healing that he has spoken. If God will heal one he will heal all. Our God is good to his word and we can depend on him to fulfill his word when we come to him in faith.ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.