God's Will Is Health And Healing!

Most people know that God can heal them. But they are not sure that it is God’s will to heal them. And it’s not what we know God can do, but what we know He will do that inspires faith. Faith rests in knowing the will of God, not in the ability of God alone.  Faith begins where the will of God is known.

Many people have religious roadblocks in the way of receiving their healing from the Lord. They quote the scripture taken out of context, “Whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives” (Hebrews 12:6).  And the religious roadblock tells them that God sometimes uses sickness to chasten the believer. But God does not make people sick. And He is not a child abuser! We would be accused of child abuse if we harmed our children physically, but people refer to God as a child abuser when they say that He puts sickness on us to teach us a lesson. God chastens us in our spirits through His word!

Other people say that God puts sickness on us to teach us to trust Him.  Still others tell us that God lets us get sick so that we can glorify Him in the sickness. And I’ve heard others say that “I’m in God’s hands, and nothing can come into my life except it come through Him first.”

But what does the Word of God teach? It teaches that “…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38). It teaches that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17) It DOES NOT teach that God puts sickness on His people!

Jesus prayed in Matthew 6:10, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” There is no sickness in heaven, and it is His will that there be no sickness on the earth! Moses admonished the Israelites to keep the Word of God in their hearts “that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth” (Deuteronomy 11:21).

Sickness came with the fall of man, and its’ cure is found in God’s remedy for the fall, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! To listen to some people, it sounds as though God and the devil have changed jobs over the last two thousand years. To them, God is the one who makes us sick, and the devil is the one who heals us! But “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

For me, the will of God concerning my healing is settled by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 8. Jesus came down from the mountain where He was ministering the Sermon on the Mount to His disciples, and there was a man stricken by leprosy waiting for Him at the base of the mountain. The leper said to Jesus, “…If you are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.” If Jesus could tell this leper that it was His will to heal him, then He must also tell me that it is His will to heal me, or He is partial and treats some people better than He does others. Romans 2:11 reads, “For there is no partiality with God!” Again, if it’s the will of God to heal the leper, then it must be the will of God to heal me!

If it is the will of God to heal some and not all, then there is no basis for faith in God to heal except through some special revelation. That’s the reason we sometimes hear the faith destroying prayer for healing, “Lord if it be thy will…” Folk that pray that way for healing simply do not understand the Word of God on the subject. We as Christians know the will of God through His Word. His Word is His will for us!

Receive Your Healing By Faith!

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases (Psalm 103:1-3).

 

Jesus sacrifice on the cross provided both forgiveness of sin and healing of sickness and disease for us. The same kind of faith that brings the new birth to us also provides healing for our physical bodies. The same faith we exercise to be forgiveness when we sin is the same faith we exercise for healing. Let me explain.

When you’re born again, the confession of your mouth that comes from the faith in your heart brings salvation into your life! That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:10).

Faith is released with words. Be careful with what you say. Words carry what you believe! And words bring your salvation into a real experience in your life. It works the same way with healing. If fact the Greek word for salvation includes everything that salvation brings us, including healing!

So you could read this verse in Romans this way: That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be healed. For with the heart one believes unto health, and with the mouth confession is made unto healing!

The same faith that saves from sin also heals disease. Here’s how it works. When you sin, you go to 1 John 1:9, where the Word says If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. After you act on that scripture, you probably don’t feel forgiven initially. You’ve confessed your sin. You’ve asked for forgiveness, but the emotions retain the remorse of failure.

 

And that’s where faith comes in focus. You then say out loud, Lord, I thank you that I’m forgiven and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. And you stand your ground on the word where God says He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse confessed sin. It may take a while, but eventually the feelings of failure subside, and the peace of God returns. The bottom line here is that you must believe you’re forgiven before you feel forgiven.

Faith for healing works exactly the same way. You go to the Father with the symptoms that are attacking your body. You remind Him of what His Word says about you. That Jesus took your infirmities and bore your sicknesses the same time that he took your sins. You command the sickness to leave your body. You resist it in the Name of Jesus! Then, you ask the Father for complete healing and according to Mark 11:24, you believe you receive your healing.

Then, just as you do for forgiveness of sin, you stand against thoughts and feelings that tell you that you’re still sick. Your faith in the Word declares that you’re healed while the symptoms are still raging. You continue to voice aloud the promises of God for health. And healing eventually manifests in your body. Your faith in the Father through the Word for healing will make you whole. Act on the Word for healing today!

 

You Hold The Position Of A King And A Priest Before God!

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (Revelation 1:5-6).

 

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

 

We have two important positions as believers. We are kings! And we are priests! Being a king doesn’t mean that we whiz around with the pomp and circumstance of royalty having servants cater to every whim and fancy. A king rules his domain. We have the spiritual authority of a king! Historically, a king’s word was the bottom line in his kingdom. Where the word of a king is there is power (Ecclesiastes 8:4). We are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That means that He actually shares His authority with us! Demonic forces must bow when we exercise our authority.

A king reigns with words. The Father wants us to fill our words with His word! He watches over His word to make it good! He is the King of kings! When we speak as a king, our King’s power backs it up and brings it to pass! Jesus is Lord of lords. We are lord over our domain. And Jesus is Lord of us! We have spiritual authority in our homes and families. We have the legal right before God to command Satan to keep his hands off our lives! He must go with his sickness and disease, with his poverty and lack, with his strife and rebellion, with his depression and fear! We’re kings. Our words rule. The King of kings backs them up. Exercise your kingship!

 

We are also priests before God. A priest represents others before God. Jesus is our High Priest. He ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). As priests, we are to go before the Father on behalf of those who don’t know their rights and privileges in Christ. We are to bear their burdens, and be the go-between for them before God. We represent the weak, the helpless, the fear-filled, the sick, the depressed, the poverty stricken before God in prayer. We ask on their behalf. Then, as the Father gives direction, we go minister to them! And His power becomes available to set them free.

 

Exercise your rights as a king and a priest today. The Father depends on you to help Him. We are laborers together with God!

How Meditation Changed Me And How It Can Change You

Meditation in the Word will change you! There is simply no such thing as a believer who meditates in the Word not changing. Fifteen minutes a day in meditation with the Word of God can overcome years of wrong thinking and believing.

 

As I mentioned yesterday, meditation takes the Word from your surface thought life down into the very recesses of what you think and believe!  You meditate two ways: by speaking the word slowly out loud, and by cogitation it over and over mentally, thinking about every Word in a verse of scripture. This applies the Word in a practical way to your life and lifestyle!

 

When I first came back to the Lord and was filled with the Holy Spirit, I began the practice of taking a few minutes throughout my day for meditating. I meditated on being a new creature in Christ and what that means (2 Corinthians 5:17); on being the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21); on having no condemnation between me and the Lord; on being loved by the Father (John 16:27, John 17:23); on Jesus taking my sicknesses and diseases the same time He took my sins (Psalm 103:1-3; Isaiah 53: 3-5; Matthew 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24); on the Father providing for all my needs (Matthew 6:33; Phil. 4:19); on being free from fear (2 Timothy 1:7); on the value and power of my words (Matthew 12: 34-37; James 3: 1-6; on my authority in Christ over demonic forces (Colossians 2:15; Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 1: 17-2:6).

  

Boy did my life change! Over a period of time, fears that had ruled me lifelong began to fade away like a snowball in sunshine! And in their place, faith rose in my heart!

 

Then God begin to show me a different level of knowing Him. I began to see character issues in a way I never had before. I begin to see how the fear of others had driven me into isolating myself from intimacy. From really letting others know what I’m like. I began to see how perfectionism, being an obsessive and compulsive person, had ruled me and my relationships with those close to me. I began to see how using accomplishment as a means of being pleased with myself and as a tool to get others to affirm me had ruled my life.

  

Meditation in the Word began to rip these false beliefs from the core of who I was. Confidence in being loved and fully accepted by the Father completed replaced the fear that dominated my relationships with God and others. Knowing that the Father cares and knowing  that He rules me has set me free from the never having arrived attitude and feeling perfectionism brings. Knowing that as I act on His Word God honors His Word in my life and brings it to pass has liberated me from the obsessive compulsive desire to have everything just right. Now, I live as unto the Lord, seeking to simply to honor Him and His Word.

 

Life is rich, peaceful, and enriching when you have a values system that agrees with what the Father’s values.

  

Take time to meditate in the Word today. Find scriptures that deal with the problem areas of your life and begin to let them revolve on the inside of you. Give it some time. 21 to 28 days begins the formation of new habits. IF you’ll be honest with yourself, allowing the Lord to show you the areas that need changing, and then if you’ll meditate in the Word that addresses these areas, you’ll change! Start today!

There Is No Real Life Change WIthout Meditation In The Word Of God

There is no real change in the life of the believer without meditation in the Word. Meditation means speaking the Word aloud slowly or revolving it around in the mind over and over again. The Word will not affect you until it gets from your head to your underlying thought patterns, the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23).

Notice Psalm 1:1-3: Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;  but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

Meditation in the Word cause a person’s whole life to blossom like a well nourished tree on a river bank! That’s because meditation moves the Word from the conscious mind to the spirit of man, where these underlying thought patterns are closely aligned. Once the Word replaces these wrong underlying thought patterns, life changes!

Notice Joshua 1:8: This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. I want you to see here that meditation in the Word produces the ability to do according to all that is written therein!

 

Start in the New Testament with the scriptures that include the Words in Christ, In Him, or In Whom. You’ll find these in Kenneth Hagin’s mini book In Him. Start to speak them out loud, and let them roll over and over in your mind. Take ten or fifteen minutes a day to meditate on the word in this way.

For me, once I did this, I then began to find scriptures that related to problem areas of my life. Scriptures that had to do with anger, unforgiveness, gossip, healing, answered prayer, etc. I would look them up, write them down, and take them to a quiet place and meditate on them. My life changed!

  

Meditate in your car, as you go to sleep at night, or take a break during the day. Go to a quiet place, close you eyes, and speak the scriptures to yourself. Make meditation a daily practice. The Word will begin to replace wrong thinking and believing. The wrong underlying thought patterns will be replaced with the truth of the Word. You behavior will slowly conform to your new belief system. And you’ll be a changed person! 21 to 28 days begins the formation of new habits. So give yourself a month or so, and you’ll begin to see changes in your outward conduct.

The Word meditated upon and acted on brings tangible results! Tomorrow, I’ll give you some personal examples of what meditation in the Word has done to change me.

Change Your Belief System With The Word Of God!

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls (James 1:21-NLT)

The Word has the power to produce deep and lasting change in the believer. The implanted word saves the soul or renews the mind. When it comes to us changing, we will not change until our belief system changes. Let me explain.

 

We have basically two kinds of thought; conscious thoughts, and underlying thought patterns which some term your belief system or your core values. The Bible calls this your conscience. These core beliefs, or belief system, or underlying patterns of thought operate almost automatically. And they are at work just under the conscious level and they motivate us in all of our behaviors; our actions, words, responses, how we see the world, how we see ourselves, how we treat others, and how we relate to God.

  

These deep underlying thoughts are what control us. And there is no personal change of lasting value until these underlying patterns of thinking change. Notice 2 Corinthians 10:3-6: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,  casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

  

The strongholds mentioned here are really fortresses of thought that are built up in these underlying thought patterns. The arguments mentioned are the patterns of thinking that precede behavior. These must be challenged and changed before we act differently.

 

The Word divides soul from spirit in us, and is able to analyze these underlying thoughts in a way no psychologist or psychotherapist ever could. For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12- Amplified).

  

Reading the Epistles in the New Testament will give you the will of God for the believer in most of the areas of life. If you’ll read them slowly and prayerfully, making a decision to line your lifestyle up with what you read, you will be challenged to change! Ask yourself while reading; is there an attitude or motive that I need to change; is there some sinful activity that I need to forsake; is there something that I’m not doing that I must begin to do; is there some promise here that I must embrace?

If you’ll do this, the power of the word of God will begin to change you. It will analyze your thoughts, your motives, your actions and reactions, your beliefs and all your conduct. It will detect wrong underlying patterns of thinking. The Word will convict you to change! The Holy Spirit will urge you and motivate you to challenge hurtful underlying patterns of thinking.

Tomorrow, I discuss the part that meditation in the Word plays in changing these underlying patterns of thinking. Meditation in the Word is the key to permanent life change!

It's Time To Operate By The Rules That Govern The Kingdom Of God!

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28).

 

In these days that are at the close of the church age, the Father wants us to shine in the darkness that is engulfing this planet! We are not just natural people. We’re citizen of the Kingdom of God. We are ambassadors of heaven while living here! We’re a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a purchased people!

 

Ambassadors living in foreign nations have diplomatic immunity from many of the laws that govern the country they live in while operating as an ambassador.

 

Now it’s time for us as citizen of God’s kingdom to operate in Kingdom law so that God can show Himself strong in our world through us! To operate in Kingdom law, our minds must be renewed with the Word. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13). The Father’s challenge in this hour is for us to live in His highest and best by operating in His law, His kingdom rule!

 

To do so we must walk in faith and love. The kingdom of God operates on the principles of faith. Faith pleases God. He maintains a relationship of faith with us as He speaks and guides daily through the Word and by His Spirit. He doesn’t show us everything at once. He doesn’t give us the whole blueprint. He usually only shows us the next step, and expects us to respond in faith and believe we receive from Him at all times. That’s kingdom law.

  

He expects us to walk in love. God is love. Love is the atmosphere of the Kingdom. Love is the motivation for attitude, thought, motive, speech, and action in the Kingdom of God! Love brings the Almighty into our relationships and tags us as Kings kids!

 

In this Kingdom Law, as leaders we become servants; to truly live we must die to self-ambition and self-interests and live for our unseen commander; to receive we must give; to increase, we must decrease. As the armies of Israel, we must allow praise to fight our battles, and look to the unseen realm for victory in conquests. Fear must give way to absolute faith in the Word of God.

  

We must not be moved or shaken by what we see or feel, we must be motivated by faith in the Word of God at all times!

 

As we live in Kingdom law, we should expect the working of miracles to become prominent as the closing of the age of grace draws near. The Working of Miracles is part of the rule of the Kingdom of God. The spiritual gift Working of Miracles is where God literally sets aside the natural laws of physics, and invades our world with His supernatural power. Working of Miracles is where Kingdom law supersedes natural law, with no natural explanation that can be discovered by scientific examination.

  

Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. Tax money was found in a fish’s mouth. The storm cease by a simple word of command. The dead were raised to life again. The deaf and blind began to hear and see. The crippled walked. The insane became clear minded. A widow was supplied with flour and oil that never ran out during a severe famine. Men endured flames without being burned, without even the smell of smoke on their clothing. Wild animals became tame, not harming their potential victims. At one point, the sun even stopped in the sky for 24 hours as Israel fought their enemy! These are examples of Kingdom Law, Kingdom rule.

 

Let’s expect God to meet us in awesome ways in the dark days ahead. It’s time for us to shine! Let’s walk in Kingdom principles. As we do, we will see the miraculous!

 

Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you (Isaiah 60:1-2).