Why I Believe In Healing

Why I Believe in Healing Introduction Years ago while battling a case of bronchitis, I asked myself a simple question – why am I sick if I believe in healing? As a born again, Spirit filled, bible quoting, faith believing Christian, I should be walking in health. I believed in healing and had all the right books, listened to countless hours of teaching tapes, been to conventions and crusades, yet I was fighting sickness. For me, the problem of receiving healing usually goes back to having the right beliefs. I knew I had to search my heart for what I really believed. The answer is always found in the word of God – so I knew I had to go back to the word and dig for myself and come to my own conclusions about why I believed in healing. As good as the books are by F.F. Bosworth and T.L. Osborn, I couldn’t rely on what they believed. I had to come to my own conclusions based on my own study of the word. I encourage you to do the same. Let this book be a launching pad for your own study of healing. The process of thinking these things out for yourself will build your faith. The name of God One of the major reasons I believe in healing is that it is one of the names of God. God has revealed Himself through His covenant names: Jehovah Rapha being “I am the Lord that heals.” Exo 15:26 ESV (26) saying, "If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer." In Hebrew – the last sentence of the verse above is two words. Our Lord’s personal name – YHVH – which means “I am” and the word Rapha – or healer. It is who God is – being one of His names. Mal 3:6 ESV (6) "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. If God was a healer then He is a healer – He doesn’t change. Man’s goofy doctrines about healing may change – but God is still God – He never changes. His Word remains the same throughout all eternity. He is a rock of steadiness in the midst of the storms. Don’t let anyone lead you astray – God is the Great Physician – and He never changes. God’s Nature 1Ch 16:34 ESV

(34) Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! God is a good God – not a bad god. You need to get this straight in your thinking once and for all: God is good The devil is bad. Joh 10:10 ESV (10) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. If it involves stealing, killing or destroying – it’s the devil. If it involves abundant life – it’s Jesus. I know this sounds real simple and easy – because it is!! Understanding John 10:10 changed my walk with the Lord. If you can understand this little simple concept – the rest of doctrine and theology just falls into place. Deu 1:25 ESV (25) And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, 'It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.' Jam 1:17 ESV (17) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. When God gives – it is a good gift. God doesn’t hand out chunks of coal for Christmas He gives good gifts. We really need to get it out of our minds that God is against us and that He hates us – it’s simply not true. God is a good God and He has the best plans for you – the biggest gifts – the best gifts. Your part is to believe and obey. All throughout the Torah – God says – Obey me and prosper in this new land I’m giving you. 2Ch 20:20 ESV (20) And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed." Can you really trust someone who hurts you one day and then is kind the next? Isn’t that an abuser? The mixed signals will drive you nuts. God isn’t like that – Hallelujah!! He is good all the time!!! Mat 6:10 ESV (10) Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. God doesn’t have bad things to give and the devil doesn’t have good things to give. If you think about heaven, where God’s will is always done – is there sickness? Of course not. Jesus told us to pray that God’s will, which is being done in heaven, would be done on earth. That means that most of the time, God’s will isn’t being done. I know that’s shocking to some who cling to the teaching of the sovereignty of God as an excuse for

lack of faith. God – in His sovereignty – has given man authority on earth to pray for God’s will to be done. Yes, God is sovereign but that doesn’t mean everything that happens is God’s will. You’ve heard people say “well, if it’s God’s will He will heal and if not, oh well.” What this is - is a pathetic lack of faith. Why don’t you find out if it is God’s will and then pray? God gave us His wonderful word to instruct us on what His will is. It would behoove you to read the Scriptures and find out what God’s will is! Healing is part of the promise Deu 28:1-15 ESV These are the blessings (1) "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. (2) And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. (3) Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. (4) Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. (5) Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. (6) Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. (7) "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. (8) The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (9) The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. (10) And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you. (11) And the LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. (12) The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. (13) And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, (14) and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. These are the curses (15) "But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. (21) The LORD will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

(22) The LORD will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. Gal 3:13-14 (13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"-(14) so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Heb 7:22 ESV (22) This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant. Did you get that? Better covenant? What could be better than Deut 28:1-14?? They were blessed coming in and going out – they had a covenant of healing with Jehovah! Because we are in Christ – we are heirs of the promise (Gal 3:29).What we have as Christians is not worse than the Jews had under the Mosaic law – no, my friend, it is better!! Sickness is under the curse of the law and Christ has redeemed us from the curse. That means that Jesus has redeemed us from sickness. Healing is in the Atonement Isa 53:4-5 ESV (4) Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (5) But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. Mat 8:16-17 ESV (16) That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. (17) This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases." 1Pe 2:24 ESV (24) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. The answer to the question of “is healing in the atonement?” is found in Matt 8:17. Many have taught that Isa 53 only applies to “spiritual healing”. Really? The cure for spiritual healing is the blood of the Lamb. Look at Isaiah again – He was wounded for transgressions - that is the remedy for transgressions. He was bruised for iniquities – that is the cure of iniquities. Chastisement was the remedy for peace and His stripes are the answer for sickness and pain. There is remedy for transgressions, iniquities, peace and healing available in the atonement. Surely He has borne (or carried) our pain and sicknesses – did you know that is what the Hebrew words translated for griefs and sorrows really means. That is why Matthew quoted this passage the way he did – because that is the way it reads in the Hebrew.

So here is Matthew, following after Jesus, learning and writing things down to be included later in his gospel. He sees Jesus healing a bunch of sick people and it brings to mind a Scripture that he learned as a young Jewish boy. Do you see that Matthew was certain that verse applied to physical healing? What was the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4-5? Was it Jesus’ death on the cross or His healing the sick? Do you think perhaps the Holy Spirit made a mistake and let Matthew put that in when it wasn’t really correct? But what if you favorite commentary says it’s only spiritual healing? Then that commentary – on this issue – disagrees with God, Isaiah and Matthew. The bible will explain itself if you will let it. For me, the matter of whether or not healing is in the atonement was settled when I read Matt 8:16-17. Read those two verses again and again and again until it sinks so far down in your spirit man that you never get confused again about this issue. If you will examine the three most prominent verses in the bible on the atonement: Is 53:4-5, Matt 8:16-17 and 1 Peter 2:24 – all three mention healing. Healing is in the Atonement!!! Healing is a Good Thing! The Example of Jesus Joh 6:38 NKJV (38) For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Jesus was the perfect manifestation and expression of God when He walked the earth. We can learn who God is by looking at Jesus. Jesus did nothing outside of the will of God. In the matter of healing, let’s look at how Jesus dealt with sickness and oppression whenever He found it. Mat 4:23-24 NKJV (23) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (24) Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demonpossessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. Jesus saw people with needs – whether demon-possessed, afflicted or sick and He did the will of the Father – He healed them! Pay attention here because this may seem so simplistic that it goes right by you!! Jesus healed them and He always did the will of the Father! Mat 8:2-3 NKJV (2) And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

(3) Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Jesus could not say “I am not willing”. Why? Because He always did the will of His Father and the Father’s will is freedom, healing and liberty! Mat 8:6-7 NKJV (6) saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." (7) And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." Jesus didn’t need to think about, pray about it, fast about it or consult with theological experts about it. There was a need – He said “I’ll go and take care of it.” Mat 8:14-15 NKJV (14) Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. (15) So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them. Jesus had plenty of opportunities to teach us about the will of God. If at any time – the will of God was to leave people sick, depressed, oppressed, beaten up and discouraged – then Jesus would have demonstrated that. Mat 8:16-17 NKJV (16) When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, (17) that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses." If you ever memorize a scripture – memorize this one! Jesus healed all who were sick! Why? It was His purpose to come to earth and demonstrate the Father’s will to us. Act 10:38 ESV (38) how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Jesus did what was good not what was evil. He went about doing good and healing – because healing is a good thing. He healed all those oppressed by the devil – the implication being that the devil is behind most sickness. 1Jo 3:8 ESV (8) Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus had a mission while on this earth – to destroy the works of the devil. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. He always did the will of His Father.

Healing is a good thing Luk 6:6-11 ESV (6) On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. (7) And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. (8) But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, "Come and stand here." And he rose and stood there. (9) And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" (10) And after looking around at them all he said to him, "Stretch out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was restored. (11) But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. Jesus wanted to heal the man’s hand (to do good) while the Pharisees didn’t (evil). Which side of the fence are you on? In Western society we esteem those who choose to go into the medical and emergency services professions. We think of firemen who rush into a burning building to save a life as heroes. Doctors, nurses, medics and countless others lay down their lives each day to bring healing and hope to those who are afflicted. The only place you will find people who think you should be sick and stay that way are in the church! Why would people in the church want you sick? Good question! Somebody didn’t just wake up one morning with this goofy doctrine – it developed over years of trying to explain the lack of power and faith in most Christians’ lives. It goes something like this: we prayed, someone didn’t get healed (right away or as soon as we thought they should) so God must want them sick. Now we can beautify this a bit by adding – “in His eternal wisdom and sovereignty He does whatever He thinks is best”. The sad truth is – we don’t really believe that. If we did, there would be no need for doctors, nurses, medics or firemen. Either God would heal us or we would accept that we are supposed to be sick. Instead of building hospitals and training medical professionals, we would be stepping over the sick as they lay on the floor and admonishing them to “start learning your lesson quick!” The pain reliever business would go under because “if God doesn’t heal them, He wants them sick!” Can you see how ludicrous this is? There is a psychiatric disorder called Munchausen’s by proxy. Basically a dysfunctional mother makes her children sick in order to get sympathy from doctors and neighbors. It’s hard to diagnose because no one wants to believe that a mother (usually it’s the mom) would do such things. Why would we accuse God of being that abusive? Can you see how foolish this line of thinking really is? If we put men and women behind bars in this country for child abuse, why would we think God is an abuser? Is He not just? Is He not love? If someone injects another person with AIDS tainted blood – we charge them with murder. If God gave someone AIDS, that would make God a murderer.

We have come back full circle again to the nature of God. It all boils down to this one thing – who do you think God is? Is He the God that healeth thee or the God that maketh you sick? What is God’s will? Is it God making you sick or the curse of sin on this earth? Is His will always done in heaven? Is it done on earth or should we pray for it to be done on earth? When you settle this question for yourself – your faith will be established on the matter of healing.