Does the Lord still heal the sick? If you believe the answer is yes, then why are truly bonafide, medically documented healings found so few and far between? Why do thousands of people crowd arenas for a healing service, but only few, if any, walk out healed at the end of service? Why do believers get sick and die prematurely of preventable diseases at the same rate as non-believers?
The truth is that if I were a man of pure science it would not be a hard task to scientifically prove that the power of divine intervention from the God of the Bible is no different than guided positive visualization prompted by a new age guru.
I would argue, “Where are the signs and wonders, and miraculous healings today?” In the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry and shortly after in the early apostolic age; healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead seemed to be an ordinary part of daily ministry. Jesus spoke the Word, Peter cast his shadow and Paul sent his handkerchief.
Is the problem Jesus…has He quit the healing business? Critics may argue…was He ever in the healing business?
The truth is that healing, which was the quintessential sign of Jesus’ ministry, is all but non-existent in the church today. Some may contend that point, but there is absolutely no proof that Christians have a lower mortality or morbidity rate than non-Christians (and believe me, I hate to be so scientific about this). In actuality, the only study that shows some evidence of Christians being healthier than the general population is in a certain group of Seventh Day Adventists. In this case, the increased wellness quotient was solely due to strict dietary habits and not preferential divine intervention.
So what about the “healing”, which is the center of millions of prayer requests beseeched every day from Christians around the globe? Where has that healing gone?
The more I study the Word of God the more I am convinced that the Lord is ABSOLUTELY still in the healing business. The problem lies not with the Lord or His Word, but with the believer’s inability to position his or herself for the healing. There are 7 obstructions that can ABSOLUTELY hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in regards to healing.
1. Lack of trust in the Word: Jesus had no doubt in the ability to access power from on high. His faith was pure and unadulterated. Jesus totally and unequivocally trusted in the power and authority the Father had given Him. Some have mistakenly believed that Jesus performed miracles because He operated in His deity on earth, but in actuality He operated as a man under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus trusted the power of the Word because He was the Word. He was in the beginning the Word that caused all creation. He spoke and things were created. Jesus was completely accustomed to speaking, with powerful and perfectly unwavering faith, things that were not, as if they already were and then they became. He took His attributes of God and operated them through His humanity. This is why He was able to bestow this authority and power onto man. These qualities were created in us from the very beginning of our design. When God created Adam in the garden He imparted His likeness and image (and all the attributes necessary to take dominion over all creation). It is now the role of the Holy Spirit to activate the use of this power and authority.
2. Lack of Obedience to the Word: Walking around with the label of “I’m a Christian” does not automatically entitle a person to the promises and power of God. Jesus, our example in all matters of faith, was completely submissive to the Word of God. Some may argue that it was easy for Jesus to submit to His own Word. That may be true if He had no humanity. But Jesus delayed and wept for Lazarus to show the Glory of God. He wept over Jerusalem knowing that they never heeded the words of the prophets and ultimately endured the agony of the garden to bear the sins of all humanity. His obedience was the source of His power and the foundation of His faith. Likewise, our disobedience is the demise of our power. For the most part, Christians aren’t healed today because of disobedience to the Word, rather it’s from a lack of “faith” (in actuality it’s lack of faith due to disobedience). It is impossible to have powerful faith and active disobedience at the same time. Disobedience, better known as sin, is the critical issue that interferes with the activity of our faith and subsequently with the manifestation of our healing. Review James chapter five. The activating factor in healing is not the oil, the prayer by the elders or the touch, but undoubting the confession of sin (becoming re-obedient to the Word) that activates the power of God to heal.
3. Warped expectations of Faith in the Word: This is commonly manifested in the face of crisis. Believers believe in the benevolent forgiving nature of God to a fault. This unfortunately always backfires as a crafty weapon of the enemy to destroy ones faith. The Word of God is constant and unchanging. The expectation of the Lord is for us to be constantly and unchangingly obedient to the Word. What slips by the consciousness of the believer is the day-to-day observance of the full counsel of God’s expectations. Now legalism is not what I’m promoting, but what I am promoting is God’s decision to honor our obedience and move on our behalf according to our faith. Here is a classic example. We are faced with a decision to take an action that would surely benefit our well-being, but we can’t see it possible under our own strength (or at least it would be presently inconvenient). So we shy away and forgo the decision for a later date (for there is no dire urgency at this time). Then, in the course of time, the lack of decision proves to be catastrophic. Crisis has now manifested. So we call upon the Lord with “great faith” to intervene for the resolution of the crisis. We expect God to step out of heaven to heal, deliver and restore. From whence comes our great faith! Where was our faith when we could have prevented the crisis? Why couldn’t we trust God to make a way for us to prevent the crisis?
4. Making excuses for not following the Word: This point is the natural demonstration of the previous point. When faced with a situation, Jesus always leaned on the authority of the Word. Bread in the desert would have been a welcomed meal. But never did Jesus make an excuse to justify disobedience to the Word. So let’s examine the believer of today. We are completely willing to follow the Word as long as it is convenient to the schedule of our day; as long as it doesn’t consolidate too much of our time, as long as it doesn’t take away from our recreational money, as long as it falls in line with the opinion of men and lastly as long as it grants immediate satisfaction. It is sad but true; the enemy has lulled us into a state of egocentric existence. When God truly becomes the center of our existence we joyfully give Him our time, talent and resources.
5. Not following the complete context of the Word: The more we read the Word, the more we believe the Word. Faith comes from hearing the word of God over and over. The early believers did not have the convenience of the written Word. Their faith was built on the testimonies of others. There was little room for conjecture, opinion and interpretation. There were no science projects to shed doubt, there were no newspapers to skew the truth, and there were no talk shows to spin the facts. Sure there were Pharisees and teachers of the law who refuted Jesus’ claims of deity, but they never denied His acts of healing. Even to the point of acknowledging His power to heal but questioning His authority and timing (in the case of healing on the Sabbath). As a believer we must exercise our right to use the full-unadulterated counsel of God’s Word. We must believe if the Bible said it…then it must be true!
6. Not understanding our sacrifice to the Word: This is clearly seen in the plight of Abraham. A critical aspect in the expectation of healing is the ability of the person to trust the Word of God and operate in absolute faith even though there is no scripture to confirm that God’s intent or promise is to physically heal all believers. God’s decision to heal is always related to His edification. Even though healing was not the topic in the case of Abraham, Isaac and Mount Moriah, there was the expectation of God stepping in and providing a miracle. It was on the mount when God first revealed Himself as Jehovah Jirah. In the instance of healing or any other petition of divine intervention, it is crucial to position yourself in order for the Lord to step in as Jehovah Jirah. The Lord provided a ram in the bush for Abraham because he trusted God and made no excuses. He took initiative and was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. He didn’t take any short cuts. He was committed to following the Word no matter where it took him. He continually asked the Lord to strengthen him. He endured and long suffered. He walked by faith and he was persistent to the end. Are we willing to walk the walk of Abraham?
7. A non-repentant spirit or the harboring of unreleased inequities: Again we have to look at James chapter five to really appreciate this comment. Earlier we saw in James 5:15 the significance of “Confess your faults (sins) one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed”. Now I want to take a closer look at the “prayer of faith” as seen in the previous verse, James 5:15, “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him”. This is not the first time a believer should experience the “prayer of faith”. When a person first accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, there is usually a realization or an enlightenment of the personal significance of the event that took place on Calvary. There is a personal understanding of Jesus’ sacrifice and the absolution of ones’ sins. But in order for all this to be validated, the person must confess that they have sinned, repent (turn from the actions and lifestyle of those sins) and accept the teachings of Jesus as the guideline for the rest of their life. Some people formalize this event by reciting a prayer known as the sinner’s prayer. The idea of the prayer is that upon on the completion of it you are officially a Christian (this is I guess as close as a human being can get to understanding the process). In reality, the determination of ones’ salvation is a heart thing that only can be known between the person and God. None-the-less, this whole process hinges on “faith”, that if we confess our sins to God, He would be faithful to forgive us and thus wash us clean and make us a new creation in His eyes. In essence, this is the “prayer of faith”. Now let’s look back at James 5:15 and the complete context of this verse. James is writing this prescription for healing to the saints. He urges them that if they are sick they must present themselves to the elders of the church. Next, he gives them instruction to be anointed with oil and then we come to the “prayer of faith”. As we have just seen, the “prayer of faith” must first start with the confession of sin, repentance and the acknowledgement of Jesus as Lord and Savior. At first, one would say, “why would a Christian have to go through this process if they are already saved”? The answer is, “we are all sinners and all fall short of the glory of God”. Even the most pious of saints, due to their flesh, will be predisposed to harboring inequities. Some harbor anger, unforgiveness and jealousy, while others may harbor greed, gossip and criticism. However, no one is immune. James is clear as we read on that the “prayer of faith will save the sick and raise them up” (the restoring power of this prayer) and “if they committed any sins they would be forgiven” (the cleansing power of this prayer). The conclusion must be that there is an intimate relationship between sin and the cause and persistency of disease.
The very first question I posed was, “Is Jesus still in the healing business”? The answer to this is, “of course”. Jesus was in the healing business, still is in the healing business and will always be in the healing business. The key for healing in this modern era is position. Can we position ourselves to be healed? First we must trust the Word of God and be obedient to it. We must be sensitive to the Word of God and act accordingly without excuses. Then we must be careful not to compromise the Word and be willing to sacrifice according to it. Finally, we must search ourselves. We must take a close look at what we may be harboring in our spirit and be careful to come to the Lord with a humble and contrite spirit. For the Lord Jesus is still in the healing business!
The 7 Weeks to Wellness Program and Ministry understands and addresses each of the areas that separate us from health and the healing touch of the Holy Spirit. True trusting in the Word of God and the adherence to covenant, taking dominion over excuses and the lies of the enemy, understanding the correct use of the “prayer of faith” and our responsibility to experience Jehovah Jirah, the Lord our Provider, and finally humbling our selves before the Lord and truly looking on the inside to clean our own house of inequities and devices of the enemy. Over the past three years, I have seen hundreds of lives changed at filled altars around the country. The messages Healing Covenant and the Proper Execution of the Prayer of Faith are challenging and cutting to the heart. The promises of God are truly yes and amen for those who are willing to pay the price to attain the promise. To bring this message to your church and your community or if you would like more information about the 7 Weeks to Wellness Ministry, please don’t hesitate to call. Our office number is 718-547-0465 or my E-mail at thesaveddoc@aol.com.
