Jonathan Edwards was one of the leading American thinkers, theologians, and pastors in the 1700’s. He once said, “When the church is revived, so it the devil.” His point, of course, was that then God begins to move in powerful ways on the earth, the enemy doesn’t just role over but doubles has efforts to oppose the work of God – in a nation, a community, a church, or an individual’s life.

When a believer who has been casual about his or her relationship with Jesus begins to get “seriously serious” about Jesus, it is not uncommon for “all hell” to break loose in his or her life. We typically expect God to smooth the road for us when we truly start pressing into our relationships with him and truly start serving him, so when everything starts blowing up we may begin to believe we were better off as a casual follower of Christ. Of course, that is exactly what satan is hoping for.

The problem is that, in most cases, believers have not been taught about spiritual realities or trained in spiritual warfare. We should all know that we will endure seasons of battle with the enemy throughout our lives because that is the nature of war and we are in a war. Instead of “throwing in the towel,” mature believers simply dig in and begin to exercise the divine weapons God has given them (2 Cor. 1:4-6). They also know that the battle will be theirs in time if they simply remain in Christ, persist in faith, and battle the enemy with prayer and the authority of heaven. Paul reminded the church in Rome of the same truth when he said, “Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom.16:19-20).

If you have gotten serious about your faith lately and things have started to blow apart around you, don’t be surprised. And don’t be surprised if God allows that to go on for a while. If you are going to live a committed Christian life you will need to get into shape spiritually. If you have been sitting in the stands for a while and then decide you want to get in the game, the coach is going to put you through some hard workouts to build muscle and stamina in your spiritual life so that you can walk off the filed a winner. Paul often compared the believer’s life to an athletic contest. Athletes have to train and training is hard…even painful. Not only do you have to get in shape but you also have to develop skills and learn strategies. It is no different in the spiritual realm.

When you decide that you want in the game and that you want to be an impact player in the kingdom of God, the devil will show up. When he does, things will get crazy but God has not abandoned you. Rather, he is using that difficult season to train you. Let me tell you from experience, that you do not want to learn how to fight those battles through trial and error nor do you want to go it alone. You will need others to fight along side you and spiritual mentors to teach you how to wield divine weapons.

Remember that great verse from James where he tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us (Ja.4:7)? Sometimes we will have to resist for a season, not just a moment. But as you resist you grow stronger and wiser. You also gain more authority in the spiritual realm as you engage in the battle. At some point, the enemy will know that he is beaten and he will flee.

God is moving in amazing ways alI across the planet. At the same time, the persecutions of Christians is at an historic high. When the church is revived so is the devil. I also believe that God is preparing a great offensive in America because the enemy has been stirred. Even in the Bible Belt” of West Texas demonic activity is noticeably increasing – so much so that even those who don’t believe in the demonic are asking questions. Children and teens are manifesting demons in ways we haven’t seen before, people are sensing evil in their homes and asking believers to come and pray for their houses, the marriages and health of church leaders are under extreme attack, and so forth.

God’s people need to learn how to fight in the spiritual realm. We need to learn how to put  on spiritual armor and wield spiritual weapons.  If you have not been trained, find someone to train you. God has left it to us to drive back the enemy and this season of warfare is not going away for a while. Read books, get involved with credible ministries in your area that know how to pray, heal, and minister deliverance. Get in the word more than ever and build up your faith. Learn to fast and ask God for the spiritual gifts needed in this season. We do not need to fear but we do need to fight. Its time for every believer to get in the game! Be blessed and victorious in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because I spend most of my time with believers who are fully convinced that the Holy Spirit still operates through his church today as he did 2000 years ago, I can forget that there is still a great number of Christians in America who do not believe that. In fact, we seem to be living in a season where some who do not believe are becoming much more vocal in their disagreement. A book entitled Strange Fire recently released by John MacArthur, a well known west coast pastor, author, and teacher seems to be more than a presentation of “cessationist” theology but rather an angry attack against all those who believe in the present supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit. In his book he stated, “Charismatic theology…has warped genuine worship through unbridled emotionalism, polluted prayer with private gibberish, contaminated true spirituality with unbiblical mysticism, and corrupted faith by turning it into a creative force for speaking worldly desires into existence.” I don’t want to get into a rebuttal of all that was stated in his book but just wanted to give the flavor of the criticisms being leveled by some toward “charismatic” believers.

Even though I served in “cessationsist” churches for 20 years, I am still surprised when someone pushes back so strongly against the idea that the Holy Spirit does today what he did for believers in the beginning. I believe that deep in our hearts, nearly every believer must long for God’s miracles in his or her life, a personal word of encouragement or direction from the Lord, and an intimacy that Jesus offered when he called us to be his friends rather than servants. Who would not want God to still move in miraculous healing when a child has been diagnosed with incurable cancer or in supernatural protection when someone’s son or daughter has been deployed to a hot zone in the Middle East?  It seems we would try to find a way to believe rather than to discredit the supernatural move of God on the earth today.

The good news is that there are some very bright and articulate believers speaking out on behalf of charismatic theology today even in camps that by and large have been cessationist in their thinking. One of those is R.T.Kendall. In his excellent book entitled Holy Fire, he offers an interesting thought about such a mindset. He begins by reminding us that the apostles themselves were initially uncomfortable with the idea of the Holy Spirit coming in place of the physical Jesus whom they had gotten to know and with whom they had become comfortable. Maybe they had become so confortable with Jesus that they felt secure and even saw him as predictable. Of course he wasn’t but until the last few weeks of his ministry they were in their comfort zone with him – even picturing themselves in prestigious positions when he ushered in his kingdom. But this invisible Spirit didn’t feel quite so safe. He felt threatening. Not so predictable.

Kendall goes on to ask, “Do you feel threatened by the Holy Spirit? … if you feel threatened by the Holy Spirit is it because you are happily in your confront zone? Are you afraid of what the Holy Spirit might do to you? What he would require of you? What he might ask you to do? Do you think you will lose something if you make yourself vulnerable and totally open to him? Are you afraid he will embarrass you?” (p.12).

Maybe many believers push back against the idea of a Holy Spirit who, like the wind, “blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going” (Jn.3:8). Perhaps, the Spirit seems less predictable or less manageable than the Jesus we imagine. I believe that “cessationsist” theology is much more “manageable” that charismatic theology.   In my personal experience, I have found that the belief that God no longer acts in miraculous ways, distributes supernatural gifts, and still gives personal revelation to his people requires less faith and fewer struggles because those who hold the position do not allow God to work outside of their theological box. If I believe God not longer heals miraculously then I don’t need faith for healing nor do I have to struggle with the mystery of some being healed while others are not.

If the Holy Spirit no longer gives me personal direction or prophetic words then I have no need to test the spirits or the prophecies and wonder if I have tested then accurately. If God does not deliver from demons then I have no responsibility toward the tormented. I simply give them the name of a good psychiatrist. Since my understanding of scripture is based on intellect and education I can easily entrust my understanding of scripture to the experts in the pulpit rather than pressing in and asking the Spirit to give me understanding and revelation. And most of all, there will be few surprises in our worship services or small groups. When we confine God to his Word, as we understand it, he is fairly tame. The Holy Spirit is not so predictable because through him we experience God rather than just sermonize about him.   When Jesus showed up, the Pharisees had no theological box for him and the supernatural move of God that came without their permission, so they tried to control him, and then discredit him, and finally killed him.

We must be careful not to do the same when God begins to act in ways that make us uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean that anything goes because we are to test spirits and prophecies but it does mean that God does not always sit in the pews with his hands folded. Pentecost seemed out of control to many. David dancing before the Lord with all his might seemed “improper” and emotional to some. The assemblies of the New Testament church at Corinth got disorderly from tome to time and Paul cautioned them about that but did claim the gifts and revelations they were experiencing were from the devil. I have lived in both the cessationist world and the charismatic world. In my experience, the cessationsist world was easier but the charismatic much more rewarding and I believe much more biblical. I would love to answer any concerns you have about that. Be blessed!

But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. (Jude 20-21)

He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…(1 Cor.14:4)

These are two interesting verses form the New Testament that both relate to a believer’s prayer language or praying in tongues. The phrases “build yourself up” and “edifies himself” are the same word in the original language.   The word means “to increase the potential of someone or something, with focus upon the process involved—‘to strengthen, to make more able, to build up.’”

The above scripture taken from Jude suggests something very important. Jude suggests that our capacity to grow spiritually, to increase in our spiritual potential, and to be made stronger and more able in spiritual matters is directly proportional to the time we spend praying in the Holy Spirit.   Paul confirms that principle by telling us that when we speak in a tongue we edify (build up and strengthen) ourselves. That is why one of the normative experiences in the New Testament after being baptized in the Spirit was speaking in tongues. If you just received the power of the Spirit, you need maturity to govern the power you’ve been given. Praying in the Spirit accelerates our maturity.

The counter-intuitive part of that process is that when we pray in the Spirit or in tongues, we have no idea what we are praying. “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit… For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind” (1 Cor.14:2, 14-15).

Paul encourages us to pray both “with the understanding” and “with our spirits” but he tells us that praying in the Spirit has the effect of increasing our spiritual strength, enhancing our spiritual gifts, activating our spiritual senses, increasing revelation, and developing the fruits of the Spirit. Every part of the ministry of the Spirit in our lives can be enhanced when we engage with the Spirit allowing him to pray through us.

The great advantage of praying in the Spirit is that the Spirit prays for the things we need most to thrive spiritually and lifts those prayers up to the throne room of heaven with an eloquence and familiarity we could never achieve. Not only that, but the Spirit is quite aware of God’s will for our lives – his purposes, plans, and desires. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” (Rom.8:26-27). The Spirit then prays things for us that we are yet clueless about so that God’s purposes can be perfected in our lives.

I believe the Spirit prays for us even when we are not praying in the Spirit but God always likes to partner with his people and accomplish things together. Praying in the Spirit helps to align our spirit with God’s Spirit. In doing so, I believe it also plays a key role in renewing our minds so that our intellect is submitted to the Spirit of God so that we can truly be led by the Spirit.

So…here is the point of all this. If you have your prayer language but just use it occasionally, begin to pray in tongues on a daily basis. Many of us only pray in tongues when we worship or when we are about to minister healing or deliverance to someone. But praying in the Spirit has a cumulative affect and, like physical exercise, needs to be increased for us to get stronger and go longer. Many of us have prayed and asked God for certain spiritual gifts we desire or to strengthen us is areas of our lives where we are often tempted and, perhaps, have not yet experienced the growth that we desire.

We can accelerate the process and fine-tune it by choosing to pray in the Spirit a significant amount of time each day. The testimony of many is that after choosing to pray in the Spirit daily for an hour or more they eventually realized that their spiritual lives had moved to new dimensions. Sometimes God is waiting to see how much we want him, his presence, his Spirit or the things of the Spirit. How much do you want it? Now much do I want it? Carving out time to let his Spirit pray through us and trusting the process – even though we don’t know what the Spirit is asking – is one clear measure of that desire. If you don’t have a gift of tongues for personal prayer, then pray for it, seek it, and ask others to help you receive. If you have it, use it as an exercise to become powerful in the Spirit. It is a gift unlike any other.

Over the past two weeks I have focused on the biblical promise of healing. Since faith for healing is required for the believer and since faith comes by hearing (and receiving) the word of God, I want to finish this short series by quoting a few verses on which you can begin to build faith for healing. This passage from Proverbs helps us understand how to build our faith.

My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. (Prov.4:20-23)

When building faith from the Word we need to give attention to scriptures that speak about the promises for which we need faith. We need to incline our ear or hear the promise by frequently speaking it out loud. We need to see the word or read it and write it out until faith for the promise forms in our heart. We need to keep the promise in the midst of our hearts by meditating on it and by staying away from those who would contradict or discount the promise. The unbelief of others tends to dilute our faith. When faith comes for the promise, then healing and life are released.

Scriptures that point to God’s heart for healing his children

I am the Lord, who heals you. (Ex.15:26)

Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. (Isa.53:4-5)

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion (Ps.103:2-4)

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” (Mt.1:23)

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. (Mt.4:23-24)

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,   and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Lk.9:1-2)

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go…Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ (Lk.10:1, 9)

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (Jn.14:12-14).

And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues… they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. (Mk.16:17-18)

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit (1 Cor.12:8-9)

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. (Ja.5:14-15)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed (1 Pet.2:24)

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. (3 John 2)

That is my prayer for you. Be blessed and well.

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.        That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor.12:7-10)

For those who believe that God sometimes visits sickness on an individual to purify or strengthen him or her through suffering, this passage from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians is often pointed to as proof for that position. After all, we have all known individuals who suffered through injuries, illnesses or disabilities who grew closer to God and who gave great testimonies of how God had strengthened them in their suffering so that they might endure their trial of sickness and give glory to God. Paul, then, is seen as one of those individuals who struggled with some kind of physical or mental condition but found God unwilling to take it from him so that he might develop absolute dependence on the Lord. That theology  promotes the view that God is not nearly as interested in our physical well-being as in our spiritual condition. Because of that, he visits sickness on some or chooses not to heal others for their spiritual benefit. And for those who hold that view, Paul is their poster child.

Let’s examine what Paul said and this particular theological view one more time. First of all we need to be aware of biblical or cultural idioms or figurative expressions. Many of us have used the expression “a thorn in my flesh” ourselves. But think of how we commonly use it. We tend to speak of irritating people who seem to always pick at us or who try to undermine us as “thorns in our flesh.” We might say, “Man, this guy at work is a thorn in my flesh. I just wish he would get transferred to another department or quit all together!” We use that expression because the thorn, the irritant, or the aggravation is external to us just as a thorn is external. Every spring when I am pruning rose bushes I always get pricked or a scraped by thorns. They are not within my flesh but external to it. They don;t “take me out”, they simply aggravate me with a bit of pain and a few drops of blood.

Secondly, the expression is used in a couple of other places in the Bible. These would be expressions very familiar to Paul, the Torah (Old Testament) scholar. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. (Num. 33:55). Then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you. (Josh. 23:13)  These, as well as Paul’s expression are equivalent. They both speak of people who constantly harass and trouble them like thorns that tear at your flesh  as you walk through a field.

Paul had such a group that followed him constantly from place to place. As soon as he would preach the gospel of grace, these Jews would come right behind him preaching that salvation came through not only Jesus but the keeping of the Law of Moses. The first chapter of Galatians reveals the level of frustration and anger that Paul felt towards these men. They were constantly his thorn in the flesh – not some besetting illness that God had given him. Notice how he finishes the paragraph thanking God for weaknesses, insults, persecutions, etc. All these fit the use of the idiom culturally and biblically. He does not list diseases as something for which he gives thanks.

Jesus himself often warned us of persecutions to come but not disease. When it came to persecution he called us to endure. When it came to sickness he healed it, gave gifts to the church for healing others, and instructed believers to call the elders of the church for healing as soon as they got sick. We have zero examples of Jesus counseling people to desire sickness so that they could grow spiritually or in order to bring glory to God. We have zero examples of Jesus laying hands on someone to make them sick so that they might prosper spiritually. If that were the case, he would have given gets of illness tho the church rather than gifts of healing. God can work in the midst of a catastrophe or a plague or a debilitating disease to bring good out of it – even spiritual growth, but that is a very different thing from causing the illness. God is “the God who heals.”  To give sickness is contrary to his nature.  Even in an evil world, any father who intentionally administered some horrible virus or disease to a son or daughter to “make them better children” would new locked up, yet we often cause God of doing they same.

There is much more we could say about Paul’s “thorn in the flesh,” but perhaps this gives you some initial help if your faith for healing has been troubled by that section of scripture and the way in which some have understood it. Be blessed today!

The names of God as they are revealed in scripture are always incredibly significant and find expression under both covenants. He is not “the God who provides” under one covenant and then “the God who no longer provides” under another. The reason is that these names reveal not just what God does but more importantly who he is. They simply reveal what he consistently does as an expression of his divine nature.

In his book, Christ the Healer, F.F. Bosworth makes a great point regarding healing and the name of God. He first lists the names and then makes a point about healing under the new covenant. I will try to summarize what he said.

The following are the seven redemptive names of God which includes the entire Trinity:

• JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH is translated “The LORD is there,” or present, revealing to us the redemptive privilege of enjoying His presence. He says, “Lo, I am with you always.” That this blessing is provided by the sacrifice of Christ is proven by the fact that we are “brought near by the blood of Christ” and that his actual presence lives in us.
• JEHOVAH-SHALOM is translated “The LORD our Peace” and reveals to us the redemptive privilege of having His peace. Accordingly Jesus says, “My peace I give unto you.” This blessing is in the sacrifice because “the chastisement of our peace was upon him” when He “made peace through the blood of his cross.”
• JEHOVAH-RA-AH is translated “The LORD is my Shepherd.” He became our shepherd by giving “his life for the sheep,” therefore this privilege is a redemptive privilege, purchased by his sacrifice. The Good Shepherd laid down his life for his sheep and we hear his voice.
• JEHOVAH-JIREH means “The LORD will provide” an offering, and Christ was the offering provided for our complete redemption. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
• JEHOVAH-NISSI means “The LORD is our Banner,” or “Victor,” or “Captain.” It was when, by the cross, Christ triumphed over principalities and powers that He provided for us, through his death and resurrection. By his sacrifice, we have become more than conquerors.
• JEHOV AH-TSIDKENU is translated “The LORD our Righteousness.” He becomes our righteousness by bearing our sins on the Cross. Therefore, our redemptive privilege of receiving “the gift of righteousness” is an atonement blessing. Jesus became sin that we might become the righteousness of God.

No one would deny that God has done these things for us under the New Covenant because Jesus paid the price for each of these things and reconciled us to God by his blood. As a Father, he is glad to be these things to us and do these things for us because we are sons and daughters in his house. We would also say that God is always pleased to be our provider, our banner, our shepherd, our peace and so forth and that the only thing that would stand between us and those blessings would be our own sin or unbelief. But what about healing?

JEHOVAH-RAPHA is translated “I am the LORD thy Physician,” or “I am the LORD that healeth thee.” This name is given to reveal to us our redemptive privilege of being healed. This privilege is purchased by Christ’s sacrifice. Bosworth says, “ The redemptive chapter of Isaiah declares, “Surely he hath borne our sicknesses and carried our pains.” … The fact is, that the very first covenant God gave after the passage of the Red Sea, which was so distinctively typical of our redemption, was the covenant of healing. It was at this time that God revealed Himself as our Physician, by the first redemptive and covenant name, Jehovah-Rapha, “I am the LORD that healeth thee.” This is not only a promise, it is “a statute and an ordinance.” And so, corresponding to this ancient ordinance, we have, in the command of James 5:14, a positive ordinance of healing in Christ’s name. This is as sacred and binding on every church today as the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and Christian baptism. Jehovah-Rapha is one of His redemptive names, sealing the covenant of healing.” Christ, could no more abandon his office as Healer and escape his nature as he could escape being our shepherd, our peace, our victory, or our provider.

The point is simply this. Healing is part of every believer’s birthright and should be expected because it is a reflection of the heart of the Father and of Jesus. It has been paid for and when we deny that God heals today as he did in “Bible times,” then we leave on the table much of what Jesus suffered to purchase for us. In that sense, we devalue his sacrifice. Our faith and expectation for healing today honors his sacrifice and his heart. If you are an athlete you want to compete. If you are a teacher you want to teach. If you are a singer you want to sing. If you are a healer you want to heal. Jesus is a healer. Ask and expect because healing belongs to you.

I want to continue to share some thoughts on healing because I believe it is absolutely part of our birthright for those born into the kingdom of God. I believe it is something that Jesus purchased on the cross for every believer. Like many things in the kingdom it is part of our inheritance but it is activated in our lives by faith. As believers it is our birthright to be able to come confidently before the throne of grace in times of need and expect help (See Heb.4:16). In other words, as children of God it is our right to ask the Father for help and expect it. It is our right to pray and expect answers but if we have no faith we either will not pray or if we do pray we will ask with little expectation and receive little. Healing is absolutely ours but it must come by faith and many of us grew up in churches that produced little to no faith for that. Because of that, we need to keep building our faith in God’s desire to heal from the Word rather than from experience or our lack of experience.

Healing comes to us through the cross just as forgiveness comes. The Psalms declared much of the gospel in advance through the inspiration of the Spirit – detailed prophecies regarding the crucifixion flow from the (See Ps. 22), hints of the resurrection (Ps.16:10), and clear declarations of grace based on the sacrifice of Jesus (32:1-2). In addition, David declared, “God forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases (Ps.103:2-3). God only forgives our sins on the basis of the blood of Jesus. This scripture also declares that healing comes to us on the same basis. If the blood of Christ buys us forgiveness then it also buys us healing. If his blood does not buy us all healing from all disease then it does not buy us all forgiveness from all sins.

This truth is demonstrated time and again in the gospels. Jesus preached forgiveness and then healed. That was the proclamation of the kingdom – forgiveness of sin and healing of disease and infirmities. Notice how the two were tied together in the healing of the paralytic in Matthew’s gospel.

“Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home” (Mt.9:5-6).

When Jesus forgave the man’s sins initially the Pharisees were indignant that a “man” would dare to forgive sin. But Jesus went on to prove his authority to forgive sin by healing the man. The proof was imbedded in the truth that death and the disease that eventually leads to death entered the world through sin. Those who live a life unforgiven are bound under death and disease. For those who are forgiven and are in Christ, premature death and disease are not inescapable because Jesus has set us free from the curse of the law (See Gal.3:13). The forgiveness of sin opens the door for healing.

Before the New Covenant, the Old Testament sacrifices as well as Passover opened the door to healing. Many sacrifices were offered in the temple that promised healing after blood had been shed. When Israel left Egypt the night after Passover the scriptures say there was not one lame person among them which is highly unlikely for the slave class. Healing had occurred under the blood of a lamb that pointed ahead to the blood of The Lamb. Numerous other examples tie healing to a blessing that comes after sins have been covered by the blood of the Savior. In addition we are simply told that “by his stripes (or wounds) we are healed (Isa. 53:5; 1 Pet.2:24) Isaiah prophesied, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. (Isa.53:4). The word “infirmities” is a Hebrew word that is translated “sickness” or “illness” nearly every other place it is used in the Old Testament and should be translated in that way in Isaiah’s prophecy.

We can say with great assurance that the Bible teaches that the blood of Jesus not only purchased forgiveness for all who receive his as Lord but also healing for all who can receive that by faith. In Monday’s blog, I want to add one more layer to this issue by looking at the names of God and how they point to the cross as well. Again, before we can begin to ask for healing or command healing with faith, we must believe that scripture teaches that healing is for all those who are in Christ and for others God wants to draw to Christ by his grace. In the kingdom, healing should be the rule rather than the exception. Keep reflecting on God’s heart, the cross, and the grace of God who always wants what is best for his children.

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. (Psalm 145:8-9)

F.F. Bosworth wrote, “The first statement in our text above is, ‘The LORD is gracious,’ meaning ‘He is disposed to show favors.’ This glorious fact, which shines with such brilliancy throughout the Scriptures, has been so eclipsed by modern theology that we hear everywhere, the Lord is able instead of ‘the LORD is gracious.” Hundreds needing healing have come or written to us saying, concerning their need of deliverance, ‘the Lord is able.’ Their teachings as well as their lack of teaching, have kept them from knowing that the Lord is willing. How much faith does it take to say the Lord is able? The devil knows God is able, and he knows He is willing; but he has kept the people from knowing the latter fact. … Before praying for the healing of people, we have to wait to teach them the Word of God until they can say, “The LORD is gracious,” instead of, ‘The Lord is willing.’ This is exactly what Jesus had to do before healing the leper who said, ‘If thou wilt thou canst.’ He showed His willingness, so that the man could really expect healing…But even when we can advance from saying ‘He is able’ to saying ‘He is willing,’ this is not enough. The word willing is too tame to fully express God’s merciful attitude toward us. ‘He delighteth in mercy’ (Micah 7:18).” ((F.F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer, Revell, 9^th Edition, p.68-69).

Those observations were made years ago but are still quite true today. In your own prayer life you have probably been convinced that God is able to do anything you ask but you are not so convinced that he is willing. Even when we pray for others we may list all of their great qualities and the works they have done for the Lord as we pray for God’s favor for healing or safety or provision in their lives. In one sense, we lift up their resume because we feel we must make a case for them in order to persuade God to meet their need at the moment. We know he is able but we are not sure he is willing.

Faith is simply believing that God will do what he has said he will do based on his character rather than on our character or our performance. The fact that God is “The God who heals you” and delights in showing favor (mercy) to those he loves is the foundation of our faith for healing. God does not have to be persuaded to heal. He does so because he delights to do so. There are conditions, of course, for receiving healing. For those who should have faith, some faith is required. For those who have known the grace of God, grace must be extended to others through forgiveness. For those who have been given the standing of righteousness in Christ, there must be a heart that desires to be righteous and that is given to repentance because of that. Faith tells us that the compassionate heart of Jesus still desires to heal now just as it did when he was on the earth. He will work with us to make sure that hindrances to our healing are removed if our hearts are turned toward him and if we have some faith for healing because we know his character. For those who do not know Christ at all, healing may be given simply out of his kindness because the kindness of God calls men to repentance.

Before praying for healing, reflect on the goodness of God and his delight in showing favor. Remind yourself that he is anxious to heal unless roadblocks exist in the spiritual realm and that he will show us what those things are so that he can do the very thing he desires to do. He is certainly able, but more than that he is willing. Even more than being willing, he delights in answering our prayers. If we can ever get that single truth into our hearts, we will certainly see God heal. Ask the Spirit to give you a deep revelation of that truth and keep asking until you have no doubt.

“In Proverbs 4:20-22 we have the most comprehensive instructions as to how to receive healing:

Attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

The Word of God cannot be health to either soul or body before it is heard, received, and attended to. Notice here that the Words of God are life only to those that “find” them. If you want to receive life and healing from God, take time to find the words of Scripture that promise these results.”(F.F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer, Revell, 9^th Edition, p.19).

In this quote from Bosworth’s classic book, Christ the Healer, a primary principle for finding faith for any promise is laid out. It begins with our commitment to the truth of God’s word. Do I believe that the Bible is inspired and that the word and promises of God are true? Most Christians would say they believe but my experience tells me that most of us believe it in principle not in practice. Most of us either believe that the Word is true for others but usually not for ourselves or we believe the word is true except in cases where the straight-forward promises of God are affected by extenuating circumstances – and they are nearly always affected by extenuating circumstances.

We assume that to be the case because we pray and don’t immediately see the results we anticipated and so we calculate that some unknown quirk in heaven kept God from answering our prayer. We assume that for reasons far beyond our understanding it was not God’s will to answer our prayer for healing or a myriad of other things we prayed for even though we have a clear promise in scripture that what we prayed for is something God always wants to do. So we begin to tack on a disclaimer to each prayer which is usually something like, “If it be your will.”That disclaimer immediately reveals that we doubt God’s will for the thing we have been praying about. In the context of healing, that phrase reveals our doubts about God’s real commitment to heal those who ask.

Until we are convinced that it is always God’s heart to heal – especially those who are God’s covenant children through Christ – then we will always pray with a kind of fleshly hope that has little expectation attached (I know this from personal experience). So then, if we want to grow in the gift of healing, we need to spend quality time in the Word looking at the scriptures that demonstrate and declare God’s willingness to heal. We need to live with those scripture until we are convinced that the Word of God clearly declares that truth. In truth, I am as lazy as the next guy so what I really want is for some amazing healer to lay hands on me, impart the gift and the faith, and leave nothing more for me than to head to the nearest rehab clinic and get everyone healed and released in a few hours.

But … would I value the gift, know the Word, and would I have struggled through my questions to find solid rock on which to stand when the winds of doubt begin to blow later?   I find myself wanting God to heal through me to create my faith rather than my faith prompting heaven to heal. I think God is willing to do both but I need to pay the price of prayer, study, and argument to establish the truth in my heart that God is always willing and able to heal because his Word says so. Any prayer standing on less than that assurance is going to tend toward double-mindedness and James tells us that a double-minded person who prays will receive little of what he or she prays for.

To say that God always desires to heal is not the same as saying that healing will always occur. Our free will and fallen nature get in the way of many things that God desires on the earth including healing. But we must start with the conviction that God is willing or we can’t ask in faith. Then if healing doesn’t occur we can begin to look for roadblocks to that healing and by the revelation and wisdom of the Spirit can begin to remove those blocks so that God’s will can be done and his will is healing. So if you are uncertain as to the heart of God in the matter of healing find his promises in the Bible, fix your eyes on those promises, meditate on them, and listen to people who have faith regarding healing not to those who doubt. That is a practical beginning for experiencing life and health in this world and the world to come.

I want to spend the next few blogs focusing on the biblical promises for healing. One of the great writers and preachers on the subject was F.F. Bosworth who wrote about and ministered healing in the early 20^th Century. I will be quoting him and then reflecting on some of his thoughts over the next week or so.

BEFORE PEOPLE CAN HAVEa steadfast faith for the healing of their body, they must be rid of all uncertainty concerning God’s will in the matter. Appropriating faith cannot go beyond one’s knowledge of the revealed will of God. Before attempting to exercise faith for healing, one needs to know what the Scriptures plainly teach, that it is just as much God’s will to heal the body as it is to heal the soul … It is only by knowing that God promises what you are seeking that all uncertainty can be removed and a steadfast faith is made possible. His promises are each a revelation of what God is eager to do for us. Until we know what God’s will is, there is nothing on which to base our faith. It is important that the mind of those seeking healing be “renewed” so as to be brought into harmony with the mind of God. (F.F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer, Revell, 9^th Edition, p.15).

Times haven’t changed. Even in the Christian community a majority of believers still doubt God’s willingness to heal them. Many “hope” for healing but find it difficult to “believe” for healing. Others believe that their sickness or condition has been given to them by God to strengthen their spirit or to somehow purify them through their suffering. Another group might say that God is interested in our souls but not our bodies so healing is not a priority in the mind of God. This group might say that perfect health is reserved for heaven so it is not dispensed on earth. Many of us have been taught those views in one form or another for years so it is difficult to have sufficient faith for healing. Faith is not the only factor for healing but it is the first factor either for the one praying or for the one receiving.

According to the Apostle Paul, “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Bosworth is absolutely right in pointing us to the word of God rather than to the word of men for our assurance that God is willing to heal us. If God only desires to heal occasionally (or not at all), how can we have faith when we ask for any healing? If we believed that having believed and repented, God still only saved occasionally based on some unknown criteria for us, how could we have any security in our salvation? When it comes to our salvation we believe it is always God’s will to save so as soon as anyone meets the minimum requirements of imperfect faith in Jesus, a decision to live for Christ (with little understanding of what that means), and the “sinners prayer” we have no doubt that God has forgiven that person and added their name to the roles of heaven.

We need to have that same assurance regarding healing. We get that first by seeing what the Word of God says about healing and about God’s heart for healing. A good place to start is to simply consider one of the names of God found in the Bible – Jehovah Rapha (Ex.15:26) which means “the God who heals.” When a name for God shows up in scripture it does not just reveal what God does but rather who he is. It reveals his heart and his nature. If God is “the healer” then it is always his nature to heal his people. God is not double-minded like men and he does not contradict his nature. We believe that God is love so he is always motivated by love. We believe that God is good so he always acts in good ways. God is also the God who heals so we can be assured that it is his nature and his desire to heal his children. No one believes that there was disease or deformity in the Garden and no one believes there will be disease or deformity in heaven. Why? Because it is not God’s will for his people to be sick or to have any kind of infirmities. Sin introduced death and disease (which may lead to death) into the world, not our Father. God does not desire sin nor it’s effects on his people, so Jesus came to deal with sin. He also came to deal with sickness and demonstrated that time after time while he walked on the earth.

There is more to be said abut healing and why healing does not always occur, but the place to begin is to simply accept by faith that it is the nature of God to love, to do good, and to heal and that he is always true to his nature. That, I think, is a good beginning point for a discussion about healing. Be blessed and well today!