It’s kind of an alarming statement, but none-the-less it is true. 4 out of 5 Americans will die prematurely of a disease they could have prevented. This is true for Christians and non-Christians the same. This would leave one to wonder, “Is the God of the Bible still in the healing business?”
It is no secret, that the majority of Jesus’ public ministry can be described as healing evangelism. He grabbed the attention of the masses by healing the sick, as a means to deliver His Fathers message of the Kingdom.
With this as our model, and to emulate the ministry of our Lord, what better way to win the lost but to heal the sick and in turn give God the glory?
As a matter of fact, the most common pray request that fills the altar on Sunday is the prayer for God to intervene for a physical healing. Thousands of churches across the country lay hands on the sick and beseech the Lord for His supernatural touch. The unfortunate truth is, that healing, as we saw in the ministry of Jesus and in the early church, is all but gone. In actuality, truly bonafide, medically documented healings are few and far between. Does this mean I don’t believe in the supernatural healing touch of the Lord. God forbid! On the contrary, the more I study the Word of God the more I am convinced that the Lord is still in the healing business. The problem lies not with the Lord but indeed with the believer’s inability to position himself or herself for the healing.
There are 7 areas that can absolutely obstrcut the Healing touch of the Father. Here are the 7 obstructions in 7 minutes of less.
The first is TRUST: Most believers when confronted with the question, “Do you trust God?” will unequivocally answer yes, especially if asked in a church setting. But the truth is the act of trust can only be displayed in obedience to the Word of God. True trust in God is to explicitly follow His Word trusting that the promise of His word would come to pass even when in the flesh it seems impossible.
This brings us to the next point, which is, adherence to Covenant. Throughout the Bible the Lord gives us a guideline for living. Most of the Covenants of the Lord are quoted as follows: “If you are obedient to My Word then I will bless you”. This language is repeated throughout the Old Testament, especially in the book of Deuteronomy. There is no question, that the assurance of Good health is directly linked to our obedience to the covenants of healing. This is clearly seen in the foods we eat, the beverages we drink and the exercise we should be doing. In short, obedience to covenant leads to blessings and disobedience to covenants has no other choice but to lead to a curse. This is one of primary factors of health and disease.
The next factor that effects out health and healing is excuses. When I ask an audience, “How many people need to make some lifestyle changes to improve their overall health”, inevitably 95% or more of the population raise their hands and admit they need to make a change. To me, that means 95% of the people just admitted they have been living outside the covenants that govern good health. So why don’t people change their ways to get back into a covenant lifestyle. The truth is, that most people have made solid excuses to live out side the realm of covenant. They believe their own excuses to the point that the excuses now have dominion over their life. The top 7 excuses are:
1. “I don’t have the time to exercise or cook healthy”
2. “ I don’t have the money to join a wellness program”
3. “It’s too inconvenient”
4. “There is really nothing wrong with me (that’s called denial)
5. “My doctor said nothing will help and that I need to learn to live with my condition”
6. “I’m too old”
7. “I’m too sick, I can’t get well”
The truth is that most of our excuses are priority issues. If you choose not to make the time to prevent sickness, you will have plenty of time to lament over your sickness when you have it. If you choose not to spend money on your health, but have no problem buying the fanciest cell phone, chrome rims or getting your nails done on a weekly basis, that’s a priority issue. The same goes with convenience, denial, trust in man, lost hope and pride. Excuses are not born out of the principles of the Kingdom. It becomes nearly impossible for a sick person, who has convinced himself or herself that they can’t get well, for the Holy Spirit to move in their midst.
What naturally follows next is our warped perception of faith. Folks can’t believe or trust that God can help them overcome their excuses, but on the day they receive the deadly diagnosis, they beg the Lord to step out of Heaven and heal their sick body. If you can’t believe that the Lord can help you manage your time to make time to take care of yourself, or the Lord can’t make a way with a few hundred dollars for sickness prevention, or for that matter any of the other excuses, how can you then expect God to step out of heaven and heal you. You can’t believe that you can live a lifestyle out of covenant, eating, drinking, lying around and not exercising, taking pills and drugs for every ailment, and then all of a sudden, God will overlook your debouched habits and heal us just for good measure. I am sure this is not the case, because the churches are filled with people who take no care for their physical wellness, they get sick and die just as fast as the heathen even when the whole church is praying for them. I know this is harsh, but it is indeed the truth.
Which brings me to my 5th point. And that is the warped perception of the Lord as Jehovah Jirah the Lord my Provider. Christians around the country, when they are in need, they proclaim the Lord as Jehovah Jirah. They expect the Lord to show up as their provider to provide in a time of need. But let’s examine when the Lord first revealed Himself as Jehovah Jirah. Abraham abandoned all sense of carnality, he explicitly trusted the Lord and was willing to make the greatest of all sacrifices, he walked in utter obedience fully trusting that the Lord will show up, He took no shortcuts, made no compromises, he fully stretched himself out of the comfort zone, and then and only then, at the very last possible moment the Lord showed up as Jehovah Jirah.
Next is our flurry of powerless prayers: rebuking, binding, loosing. If my memory serves me correctly, I do recall Jesus rebuking the unclean spirits and demonic forces, but I don’t recall Jesus or any of the disciples binding and loosing the devil or his band of deviants. There is no doubt that the Bible says that Jesus has given us authority to take dominion over the enemy by the use of His very Name. But here’s the catch, I you are not walking the walk of the Gospel in obedience and humility then not only won’t your prayers not work, but worse you may end up like the sons of Sceva
Then finally and probably most profoundly is the Harboring of inequities. An inequity for lack of a better term is the precursor or in essence the seed of overt sin. An inequity is a negative emotion that can become so deep seated in the character of a person that it becomes completely unrecognizable to that person. Each and every one of us harbors inequities that separate us from the full potential of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. This is especially true in the case of healing. James chapter 5 is very clear that the confession and absolution of sin is the critical ingredient for the supernatural healing touch of the Lord. This was confirmed over and over in the ministry of Christ, when He proclaimed a persons healing and then instructed them to sin no more or that their sins have been forgiven. In essence, how can a Holy God move in a person that is unrepentant of, and/or harbors inequities such as anger, criticism, bitterness, envy, gossip, jealousy, sarcasm, spitefulness, vengeance, greed, a spirit of adultery, a spirit of un-forgiveness, self-righteousness and manipulation and the greatest of all…pride.
The road to wellness, health and healing can be complicated when we walk outside the full council of the Word of God. Disease is intimately connected to broken covenant and un-repented sin. Disobedience to God’s natural laws of wellness, concerning diet, exercise and nutrition will surely lead to creative diseases, which is evident in the epidemic levels cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The harboring of inequities may be hidden from the world around you, but never a day goes by that inequities are not the source of anxiety and stress, which are just as much a cause of disease as any other toxin in the environment around us.
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 is my Provider, and finally humbling our selves before the Lord and truly looking on the inside and clean our own house of inequities an devices of the enemy.
I have seen hundreds of lives changed at filled altars around the country. This message is 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.
I would love the opportunity to bring this message to your church and your community. If you would like to discuss a date or would like more information please don’t hesitate to call me right now. My office number is 718-547-0465 or my cell 914-261-7869. You can also visit the web site at 7weekstowellness.com for excerpts from an actual message or you can review a list of ministry references from around the country.
Thanks again for your time. I hope you have been challenged and empower to believe that God is still in the healing business
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