H E A L I N G

 

Healing is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible.  For reasons unknown to myself, this is my very first teaching on this subject in detail.  Remember, that God knows the exact right moment in time when something should be done.

 

I have recorded 93 records of healing in the Bible – 10 in the Old Testament and the rest in the New Testament.  Everyone realizes that healing is a serious subject to say the very least.  You are also going to be very surprised as to where all healing originates.  Well, let me tell you right now that all genuine healing comes from God.  Now as I have told you time and time again, the god of this world will counterfeit everything that the true God does and healing is no exception.  When you see these television preachers and people standing in line to get healed, 98% of the time, the healing is counterfeit.  It may work for a temporary period of time, but the disease or ailment will always return and it will always be worse.  So don’t be fooled by what you see on television.  I am going to give you genuine information concerning genuine healing by the genuine God.

 

In the first place, and always, you need to go to the Word of God.  I am going to share with you two Scriptures that I have gone over in my mind by memory thousands of times.  Whenever the world would try to make me feel sick in some way, I would counter the devil’s actions with the following two Scriptures.

 

But before I do this, I want to go over one Scripture that will urge you to study God’s Word.  Remember, you have free will and you must believe that the Word of God is truth and you must act upon it.

 

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  -- John 8: 32

 

I have gone over many Scriptures time and time again, but as you know I have made a movement going back to the basics.  Once we lose the basics, we lose it all and that’s just what the enemy wants.  I saw it happen in the ministry in which I once studied.  I got away as quickly as possible and I took all these basic teachings with me.  The above Scripture says you shall know the truth.  By now if we don’t know what the truth is, we are in serious trouble, don’t you think so?  That truth shall make you free.  Don’t you think that sickness is bondage?  Don’t you believe it is something that captivates you?  It is absolutely something you want to get rid of as soon as possible.  By knowing and applying the truth of God’s Word, that truth that’s in all the Scriptures shall make you free.  And I always loved the word ‘make’ you free.  It is almost like we do not have a choice if we study God’s Word, because it is going to make us free whether we like it or not, but we have free will.  So here we have another solution as I delay sharing with you those two Scriptures that I mentioned above.  This is another way to be healed in your life of anything that could be bothering you and making you feel sick mentally or physically.  The more of God’s Word that you know, the less chance you will have of having a physical opportunity or a sickness.  I have not gotten seriously sick in about 10 years with the exception of a movement disorder in my left hand.

 

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.  -- III John 2

 

It is God’s Will above all things that we prosper and that we stay in health.  Notice the last part of the verse.  Now this is really something that most people never see and in turn, they never apply.  If we stay in good spirits and try our best to be happy and positive, we will accelerate and greatly increase our chances of being healed.  That’s what the last part of that verse means.  Our soul is what makes us our self.  For our soul to prosper is simply saying that we should be in a good mood regardless of the situation and circumstances.  I want to show this to you from the book of Proverbs.

 

A merry heart doeth good like  a medicine:  but a broken spirit drieth the bones.  – Proverbs 17: 22

 

I’m sure you have heard it said many times in medical circles that laughter is the best medicine.  All of these sayings originated from the Word of God.  A person who has a positive attitude is like medicine that is going to heal him quickly.  But that person who is negative in his spirit is broken and he has much less chance to be healed.  These types of Proverbs and sayings are throughout the Bible. 

 

I have learned III John 2 by heart for at least 15 years and I have said it probably thousands of times and it has helped me each time.  There is also a second Scripture that I’m going to go over with you in detail.  I would usually say both of these Scriptures in unison – one right after another.  I sometimes experience a slight digestive problem with my stomach because I do not have a gall bladder.  And don’t let people tell you that you don’t need one.  God put it there for a reason and to get into detail, if you eat greasy foods, that gall bladder is not there to assist in digestion with your stomach.  At times, I may feel pains of indigestion and I will say the above Scripture and the one that is following over and over again.  It is amazing how much better I begin to feel. 

 

Here is the second Scripture that I have gone over in my mind thousands of times.  Of course, I learned both of these Scriptures by memory and I have stressed to you time and time again that Scripture retemory is one of the greatest weapons you have against the god of this world.  So often we cry out for God when we are in dire straits.  Let’s cry out to God right now when things appear to be going very well.

 

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.  -– I Peter 2: 24

 

First of all, I want you to take notice that Jesus Christ was crucified on a tree, not a cross.  Most religions show the opposite with no scriptural backup whatsoever.  I Peter 2: 24 says it as clear as day that Jesus Christ was crucified on a tree.  His hands were nailed to the upright tree and his feet were nailed to the bottom section of the tree.  It was a straight up-and-down pole.  God says He cannot tolerate religion - neither can I.

 

He bare all of our sins as he was crucified because we were dead to sins and we had no hope.  But the ‘why’ is what is most important.  He did this so that we can live unto righteousness and part of righteousness is health and healing.  Look at the last part of the verse and look for something that you probably missed.  The verse says that by his stripes, which are all of the sufferings that Jesus Christ went through for us, by those stripes we were healed.  Did you pick up on that?  The phrase is in the past tense.  If we can believe big enough, we will understand that by what Jesus Christ accomplished already resulted in our healing.  We were healed.  We don’t have to beg God and we don’t have to wonder about it because His Scripture says that by what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross was for our righteousness because we were at one time dead to sins.  Now we are righteous and by his sufferings we were, past tense, healed.  This is major as far as believing is concerned and I myself had a hard time with it at first.  But we are not to blame God for our lack of believing.  We must continue to renew our mind so that we can believe bigger and bigger and believe to the point that we understand that Jesus Christ already healed us.  We need to claim this in the face of the adversary and tell it to him.  Tell him that in the name of Jesus Christ that you are  healed.  You do not belong in any way shape or form to the god this world if you are born again.  You belong to the true God and you are His son or His daughter and you must claim these promises in the midst of hell.  We are still in the second heaven and earth and the third one is coming when Jesus Christ returns for the second time.  At that third heaven and earth, there will be no pain or suffering and there will not be any need for healing.  But right now, we need to know about healing and I’m going to get into more keys that are going to help you to stay in good health and increase your understanding of genuine spiritual Godly healing.

 

However, within the realm of spiritual healing, there are actually three different categories of healing that will make this very simple for you to understand.  Although the Bible mentions different types of healings such as restoration etc.  We are going to go over three classifications that will be very easy for you to understand.  These three classifications that we are going to cover quickly are as follows:

 

First Aid:  This is where we, as a believer, go directly to God Almighty for our healing.  We may pray a lot and have a lot of patience and we must have very strong believing.  Now this is a very simple concept or type of healing.  Again, it is referred to as first aid and it is where we go directly to and only to God Almighty for our healing.

 

Second Aid:  This is where we, as a believer, will go to another believer to be ministered to.  In other words, we are seeking to be healed utilizing the power of another believer.  That believer will pray or minister healing to you.  I have heard of this done many times with great success.  But again, the key to getting you healed is that you believe.  If someone is ministering healing to you, you must believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are absolutely going be healed as a result of this other believer’s prayer for you.  Again, this is a simple concept.  Now we have covered two different ways to be healed and we are going to cover one that is used most often today.  I am teaching you this third section for one reason and one reason alone and it will now be brought to your attention.

 

Third Aid:  This is where we, as a believer, will go to a medical doctor to be healed.  As I said before, and it now comes into play, remember that only God Almighty can heal.  A doctor will only assist God in the healing process.  Most people do not realize that.  Doctors never heal anybody, but with their experience and training, they learn what they should do according to what is God’s Will for that person to be healed.  Now here is the major point that I want to make concerning this type or category of healing.  So many of us today will go to a doctor and the doctor will give us specific instructions or a certain type of medicine to take at a certain time or hour of the day.  We somehow, due to pride, often think that we know more than the medical doctor.  So we come home from our appointment and for a few days, we do exactly what our medical doctor told us to do.  We do not see instantaneous results and we get disgusted and we start saying negative things about our doctor.  Oh, he doesn’t know what he’s doing and I’m not going to listen to him anymore.  You’ve got to understand that God Almighty is able to work within a doctor to help you.  You are the one that wanted to go to a medical doctor because first aid and second aid did not work for you.  The most major point that I’m trying to make is that if you go to a medical doctor for healing, you must do exactly what that doctor tells you to do.  This only makes sense.  Why would you have gone to a medical doctor if you are not going to listen to a thing that he has to say?  Not only did you waste your time, but you wasted your money and let’s face it medical expenses are extremely expensive today and they always will be.  So don’t be a fool and try to point fingers at your doctor because you’re pointing three back at yourself.  I need to stress this point to you because I myself have done the same thing.  But I learned that when a doctor tells you to do something to help you with your healing, you must do exactly what that doctor tells you to do.  Because God Almighty, more than likely, in fact almost always is working within that Doctor to guide him so that you can be healed.  It’s simple, isn’t it?  But how many of us have done the wrong thing.

 

I hate to stretch this out without backing this up with Scripture but in this case experience is a good teacher.  I went to a doctor one time for a serious involuntary movement in my left hand.  This went on for three years and I prayed to God and I went to a believer for healing and nothing happened.  Finally, after suffering for such a long  time, I went to a number of medical doctors – third aid.  One was the best in his field.  This guy was very lighthearted and he was not afraid to try different things.  At one point he said to me something that was sort of off-the-wall.  But he said he wanted to try something unusual.  He had tried a number of different medications and nothing worked.  The movement in my hand was still there.  He used to turn around and go to his library of books he had and look up things and research ideas as I sat there in his office.  At one point he said to me I think you have this certain problem only in your left hand.  But he said I’ve got a new plan and let’s try it out and see what happens.  He gave me a type of medicine that was actually used in certain cases for a panic disorder.  He felt that my left hand was suffering a panic disorder.  By this time I was so impressed with everything that he had done and tried, that I was happy to try out this medicine.  That evening before I went to bed, I took one tablet of this medicine and the next day the movement in my left hand was completely gone.  I called him up in tears thanking him for helping me.  But the point here for you is how did I get healed?  I listened to and did everything this doctor told me to do.  I had to keep continuing to take this medicine because of this unusual medical occurrence.  To this day, no one is 100% sure as to what is causing this problem.  But let me tell you something, to take a few pills a day and have my hand be as calm as it can be so that I could do these teachings is well worth it.  I usually don’t share anything about my personal life, but if it helps you I will.  I said in this teaching that it’s been about 10 years before I’ve had a serious problem.  Ever since I took this little pill, I have not had a serious problem with my health.  It’s not much of a price to pay.  I look at it as taking a vitamin every day.  Once I went so far as to go against what this doctor said out of curiosity.  Within four or five days, the movement started to come back in my left hand and it freaked me out.  I was driving my car and I went home and took the medicine again and sure enough the hand settled down completely.  That’s third aid and for your own good, don’t forget it.

 

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

 

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

 

And Jesus put forth his  hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean.  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.   –- Matthew 8: 1 – 3

 

You need to understand exactly what is taking place here.  As always, multitudes of people followed Jesus Christ.  And a certain leper had worshiped Jesus Christ and that’s one of the keys to healing.  We must worship God Almighty to be healed.  The leper said to Jesus Christ, “if it is thy will, you can make me clean of this leprosy.”  The record points out that this is all that the leper said to Jesus Christ.  And Christ put forth his hand and he touched him and he said, it is my will that you be clean.  And immediately the man’s leprosy was cleansed.

 

But what did Jesus Christ know by word of knowledge?  Remember that word of knowledge is knowledge that is received directly from God Almighty.  Jesus Christ knew that this man believed that he could be healed.  And the key word here pertaining to this whole record is the fact that the leper BELIEVED.  This is the great key to being healed by God Almighty when it comes to the subject which pertains to any type of healing.  It could be mental healing and it could be physical healing.  We must believe the Word of God and we must apply it in our lives.  We must meditate upon the Word of God all day and all night. 

 

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.  – I Timothy 4: 15

 

It is always a good idea to compare and contrast ideas that relate to the same subject.  So that is what we are going to do here.  We looked at an incident of believing that pertains to healing and now we’re going to take a look at the opposite situation.  What happens when there is an atmosphere of healing where there is unbelief?    

                                             

Mark 6: 1 – 6

 

And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.

 

And when the Sabbath day [Saturday] was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him  were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man  these things?  and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 

 

You need to understand that what the people were expressing was doubt.  They were starting to look at any way they could to criticize and degrade Jesus Christ.  So they brought up all these different situations pertaining to his life and his lifestyle and even his family as you can see in the next verse.  The next verse also says that they were offended at him which can be stated that they were jealous of everything that he knew because they knew nothing.

 

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon?  and are  not his sisters here with us?  And they were offended at him.

 

But Jesus, said unto them,  A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

 

Here is where Jesus Christ spoke great truth and it still holds true today.  When I first got involved in the Bible, I lived home among many of the people that I knew.  I had changed so drastically that I had nothing in common with these people any longer.  And many of them did seem offended at me because I turned to God Almighty for my life and my guidance.  That’s what Jesus Christ meant when he said a prophet is not without honor in his own country and among his own friends and family.  This I experienced firsthand and I listened to my own sisters tear the ministry apart that I studied with even though they knew absolutely nothing about it.  This relationship was strained over 30 years ago and is still the same.  God says not to fellowship with darkness and I keep away from my earthly family.  It sounds sad and it doesn’t sound right in many ways but it’s either that or listen to and put up with their unbelief.  I chose to listen to God.  Now take a good look at the next verse and it will illustrate clearly to you what happens when there is unbelief, especially when a person needs to be healed and the people around him are unbelievers.  There is a section in the Bible where Jesus Christ commanded the unbelievers to leave the room so that he could perform healing upon someone.  You may recall this record as being the one where he raised someone from the dead.  He put the unbelievers out before he ministered healing.

 

And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

 

Why could he not do mighty works in this situation?  All that he did was to lay his hands upon a few sick folk, instead of upon the usual multitudes.  The next verse answers that question.

 

And he marvelled because of their unbelief.  And he went round about the villages, teaching.   –- Conclusion of Mark 6: 1 - 6

 

Jesus Christ was simply amazed at the unbelief of the people in his present location.  This atmosphere of unbelief is negative believing which is believing in reverse and yields negative results.  Jesus Christ sensed this among the people that were present and because of it, he could not do many mighty works there because of the people’s unbelief.  You need to understand as we close out this one section on healing that it is usually always not the fault of the person ministering healing.  It has to do with the people who are present at the time of the healing.  For healing to be effective, there must be an atmosphere of positive believing.

 

The next teaching is why I have decided to place this teaching in the Advanced category.  There is a principle here that you will have to work to try to master.  Let’s get to the teaching.  We are going to start in the gospel of Matthew.

 

Matthew 12: 10 – 13

 

And, behold, there was a man which had his  hand withered.  And they asked him, saying,  Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?  that they might accuse him.

 

Do you think these Pharisees gave a damn about this guy and about his healing?  They were so jealous and hateful of Jesus Christ that they searched for anything that they could find wrong.  They made an issue of the fact that it was the Sabbath day and they said, is it right or lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?  You can see that their argument makes no sense whatsoever.  It is the result of the evil that permeated their hearts.  But Jesus Christ had an answer for them.

 

And he [Jesus] said unto them, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it  out?

 

Notice how Jesus Christ never got angry, but he did get agitated with these unbelievers.  The point I’m trying to make is that he always had an answer for them which shut their mouths.  And when you walk with God, there is no one that can trap you in your words.  You always have the correct answer and you always know what to say and when to say it and how to say it.  Jesus Christ used a simple example and said to the Pharisees, if one of your sheep fell into a pit and it happened to be on the Sabbath, would you just let that sheep die or would you do everything you could to rescue it?  The Pharisees were stuck for words.  Jesus Christ went on to expand his example which only strengthens what he was trying to say and why he was about to heal this person on the Sabbath day.

 

How much then is a man better than a sheep?  Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

 

Christ made his argument and then he drew his conclusion.   The Pharisees had no logical means to refute the argument regarding the example that Jesus Christ had presented.  So Jesus Christ went about to heal this man.  Now there is a great principle involved in this particular healing and I want you to see it in the next verse and you should never forget this.  Healing takes great believing and you will see how this man was healed from his problem.

 

Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand.  And he stretched it  forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.   –- Conclusion of Matthew 12: 10 - 13

 

Now there is a great principle here that you may have missed.  You must learn to apply this principle if you are ever to get healed.  I have heard it said in a different manner and the saying went like this:  Act like you have it and then it becomes yours.  This is a mighty principle that you must master and it is somewhat advanced in many ways.

 

This person who had the withered hand was not healed only because he was ministered to.  Jesus Christ said to him, and this is the key, Stretch forth thine hand.  This person was not healed yet, but he made his greatest effort to stretch forth his withered hand.  He only received the healing that he needed when he made the effort to stretch it forth.  When he stretched forth his hand – that’s when he was healed.  I will say that again.  When he stretched forth his hand, then and only then was he healed.  He acted like he was healed because of his believing and action.  This can be an extremely difficult principle for some people to grasp.  But there have been many times when I  had a problem with something in my legs, especially because I walk a lot.  And I would say to myself, I’m going walking.  And when I stretched forth my legs to walk and got my believing to the highest point, the problem I had with any one of my legs just seemed to disappear.  This dynamic principle of acting like you have it and then it becomes yours is maybe the greatest key to spiritual healing.  Remember, that the man’s hand was not healed until he, by his own free will, stretched it forth.  He made the effort to do so before his hand was healed.  One last time:  As he stretched it forth, it was healed.  I hope you will never forget this. 

 

Because there are so many examples of healing in the Word of God, I believe it is best not to go into any more examples right now.  I do not want to confuse anybody and this truly is an advanced subject.  What I would like to do is to close out this teaching by going over some Scriptures that are scattered throughout the Word that deal with the subject of healing.  I thought of taking this teaching to a second part, but I believe there is enough information here for you to grasp and apply the basic principles of healing.  And there are also advanced principles to take into consideration.  So let us end the examples from the New Testament.  Remember, there are 83 of them and 10 in the Old Testament.  You should study some of these on your own.

 

Advanced teaching or not, I would like to keep it as simple as possible.  I was looking through my Scripture retemory cards and picked out only a small group of Scriptures that are related directly or indirectly to the subject of healing.  The following are those Scriptures.

 

Proverbs 4: 20, 21, 22

 

My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

 

God is exhorting us to listen to His Words and He wants us to hear all of His sayings.  It is because there is great benefit in doing this as we will see.  In the last Scripture, God brings up the subject of this teaching and this is one of the reasons He wants us to do His Word.

 

Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.

 

God always wants our eyes upon His Word.  He then tells us to keep His Word in the midst of our hearts.  It’s beautiful because the heart is the innermost part of the being.  If you take a day and you focus only on God’s Word, you will have the greatest day that you can remember.  So often, the world will just drag you down.  It is at these times and actually all times that you should pick up the Bible and simply read it.  Remember to act first and then you see results.  God’s Word will heal you and get your mind off the negative world.  Keep His Word in your heart and you will be blessed.

 

For they are life unto those that find them, and health (medicine) to all their flesh.  - Conclusion of Proverbs 4: 20, 21, 22

 

Now, the final Scripture in this small group has a surprise that many people still do not know. 

 

Take a look at the end of that verse and God makes a promise – one out of about 1000.  He says that if you find those words that He has written and you put them in the midst of your heart, it will be just like medicine to your flesh.  It will bring you good health because the Word of God, when read and studied and applied, is like medicine – perfect medicine, to our flesh.  The more of the Word of God that you know and study, the better health that you will have.  Isn’t that just amazing?  It really blows my mind because I have experienced this to be true.  At times, when the world just drags you down and you feel physically ill, pick up your Bible and read it.  You will begin to feel better because the Word is just like a perfect medicine.  God Almighty is your medical doctor.  Remember, He is the only one that heals.  Doctors may assist Him, but He is the healer of all healers. 

 

James 1: 6, 7, 8

 

But let him ask in faith [believing], nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

 

Especially when we ask God for something related to health, we must be believing to our fullest capacity.  God says that when we ask Him for something, we cannot be wavering – which means we should not be flipping in and out as I’m sure you know what I mean.  Anyone who is sure of himself and then he is in doubt is like someone who wavers like the wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed all over the place.  We either believe or we don’t believe.  We must make up our mind by our own free will.  When it comes to God’s Word, there is only a benefit to anything that we do if we believe in a positive manner.  God expounds in the next verse.

 

For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

 

God is simply expounding on what He said in the previous verse.  That man who wavers and is thinking back and forth – that man should not think for a minute that he is going to receive anything from the Lord.  In the next verse God is going to tell you why and it’s very simple.

 

A double minded man is  unstable in all his ways.  -- Conclusion of James 1: 6, 7, 8

 

God refers to this man who is like a wave of the sea tossed back and forth as a man who is double minded.  From working in a state hospital, this always reminded me of someone who was a schizophrenic.  God is saying that this type of man is unstable in all of his ways.  A person who is trying to get healed and believes one day and doesn’t believe the next day is double minded and unstable.  God says not to expect to receive anything from Him.  We need to be clear and concerned and we need to believe all of the time if we are going to be healed from God Almighty.

 

Now why should we be so concerned about our health?  I have heard it said many times that if you do not have your health, you have nothing.  There is great truth to this and it is simple common sense.  There is only one force in this world and it is a force that is second in power to God and he has the key to sickness and suffering.  We must take a look for a short time at the god of this world and the power that he has.

 

The last enemy that  shall be destroyed is  death.  -- I Corinthians 15: 26

 

Then death is an enemy.  Now let’s get this right for a change.  The Bible teaches that God is all light and in Him is no darkness at all.  You should be familiar with that Scripture.  If God is all light, then it is not possible for Him to bring harm upon people.  If death is an enemy, and the Word of God clearly states it is, then it must come from another source.   It comes from the god of this world.  If you ever try to get in good physical condition, you will receive opposition from someplace or somebody or something.  The enemy does not want you to take care of yourself or be in good health.  If he is successful, he can bring sickness upon you.  It has been said and it is true that sin is death in part.  That’s why we need to stop sinning and get our life in alignment and harmony with God.  When we do this, we will naturally want to get in good physical condition, which means to eat right and especially to exercise.  Many people today are talked out of this by the devil himself.  Not me, O Lord.  You will find out that if you exercise and eat correctly, you will feel much better mentally and physically.  Again, this is up to you – you have free will.  And if you have any doubts about the power of the true God when it comes to your accomplishments and your HEALING, then take a look at this final Scripture.

 

Behold, I am  the Lord, the God of all flesh:  is there any thing too hard for me?  -- Jeremiah 32: 27

 

 

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