Depend On The Lord for Healing
- When Jesus Gave Us Life, He Gave Us Healing
Written by Eileen R. Jacobs
Lately, I have been studying my way through F. F. Bosworth's book titled "Christ The Healer (copyrighted in 1924). He asked this very profound rhetorical question..."How can there be faith for healing if there is no promise in the Bible that the sick can apply to himself?" I pondered this thought for awhile. Well as far as I can read, the Bible seems to be full of promises regarding healing, so that should be enough evidence for our faith...right?
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1
Mr. Bosworth also makes this statement, "Many today say, 'I believe in healing, but I do not believe it is for everyone.'" Then he asks, "If it is not, how could we pray the prayer of faith for anyone? [from James 5:14-15] ... How are the sick to be healed, if there is no Gospel (good news) of healing to proclaim to them as a basis for their faith?" It astounds me that people in 1924 were kicking around these same issues about whether the healing of Christ is for everyone. Does God really pick and choose who gets a miracle, and the rest are left to keep hoping for one? Is there actual biblical evidence for the healing of our bodies? Is there enough bible evidence for our faith to have a substance to hope for?
When the doctor gives the report, the main concern on every patient's mind is what can be done to bring healing. Clearly, no one wants to hear a sick report, yet there are more of these kinds of reports being given every day than reports of healing and health. But there is a better report!
We all have an innate desire to resist that which brings harm and hurt to our physical bodies, and our emotional being. We want to get away from or eliminate that thing that is trying to harm our bodies or kill us. This resistance inside of us should be an indicator that we perceive any and all sickness, disease or affliction as an evil thing that seeks to destroy us. But is sickness really an evil, or does God use it as a learning tool, as many believe? I do not know too many people who enjoy being sick or afflicted. But does the Bible give us any evidence to verify where sickness is coming from? Is there an explanation for what comes against our bodies? Yes...Let's read what Jesus has to say...
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." - John 10:10-11
In this passage, Jesus tells us that there is a thief, and this thief has a premeditated purpose: to steal, to kill, and to destroy. What is he coming to steal, kill or destroy? The answer is life, life with abundance! This is exactly what sickness, disease, and affliction does to human bodies. Jesus declares that He has a completely different agenda though. He says that He lays down His own life, so that we can enjoy life and have it abundantly. What does it mean to lay down one's life? It means to give it up for another. This is a beautiful picture of substitution. It is not the taking of life, but rather giving it; not just human, natural life, but divine life, Jesus' own life. I also notice here that it says that Jesus laid down his life for "the sheep." It does NOT say that He laid down His life for only a few sheep, or for only one lucky sheep. Look carefully at what else the Bible records about Jesus...
"...The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil." - 1 John 3:8b
Really!!! Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil? What exactly are the works of the devil? First of all, the devil is the thief in John 10:10. He is the one who is aiming to steal, kill and destroy human life. However, Jesus came to give us life and life abundantly, His life. In order for Jesus to accomplish this, He had to destroy the works of the devil. He had to remove the devil's power to steal, kill and destroy human life. Look at what the Bible records that Jesus did...
"You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." - Acts 10:38
So Jesus went about doing good. The act of doing good is joined together with the act of healing. Healing is obviously a good thing and this is what Jesus was known for doing. Who did He heal? He healed "ALL." To be perfectly clear, He healed all who were oppressed by the devil. Wow! Many people hardly acknowledge that there is a devil. This is such good news, because it removes any confusion about sickness and where it comes from. Sickness is not coming from God, but rather, from the devil. Those who needed healing for their physical bodies, needed to be released from the oppression of the devil. There is a thief. He seeks to steal, kill and destroy. What does he seek to steal, kill and destroy? He seeks to steal, kill and destroy human bodies and the human soul. Who is this thief? He is the devil! Let's be really clear about that.
Who then is Jesus? He is the Good Shepherd who gave up His own life for the sheep. He is the One who went about doing good and healing those that the devil had oppressed. He is the One who came to destroy the works of the devil. He is the Son of God! God is the One Who anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power to heal. God is the One Who was with Him, healing all those who were oppressed by the devil. This is our God, Jehovah Rapha, The Lord our Healer. Wow!!! Meditate on that for awhile. The Word will heal you, right where you sit, if you will simply believe it.
Listen friends, doctors will do all they can to alleviate suffering and try to minimize pain, but only God can heal your body completely, leaving no scar, missing parts, or trace of suffering. We have already looked at some great Bible evidence for healing, yet I know some of you are still wondering, "How can I know for sure that healing is for all? I know Jesus healed people when he was on earth, but what about me? If I am sick, diseased or in pain, will God heal me?" The answer is "Yes!"
While he was on earth, Jesus was able to go about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because He was headed to the cross where He would become the sin of mankind, suffer the punishment for sinful actions, and suffer the effects of sin, which included sickness, disease, and death, and destroy the works of the devil for good. Jesus finished that work at the cross. Your sin nature, your guilt and punishment for sinful deeds, and your sicknesses died with Him at the cross. Because He was dying for our sins and not His own, and He completed that substitutionary work perfectly, God raised Him from the dead without our sin and without our sicknesses. Sin was the power behind all sickness. The devil used this power, and still tries to use this power against us through deception. However, that power has been destroyed. The power of sin and sickness were destroyed at the cross of Christ. Sin, sickness and the devil have all lost their power. Matthew 8:16-17 declares that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53. If it has been fulfilled for one person, it has been fulfilled for all. When something is fulfilled, it is complete. It is an act that does not need to be repeated. Hallelujah!
"When evening came, they brought to Him many who were under the power of demons, and He drove out the spirits with a word and restored to health all who were sick.
And thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took [in order to carry away] our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases." - Matthew 8:16-17 AMPC
If this is all true, then how do I receive this healing that has been fulfilled and provided for? How will God heal me? In the Lord's Kingdom, everything is free to those who will believe in Jesus Christ and His finished work, and will accept and receive the free blessings granted through His finished work, by faith. You do not have to do anything to gain access to God's gift of eternal life, eternal health. You simply receive His free gift by believing that Jesus is your life and health. Believing is receiving!
"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" - Romans 8:32
Faith is the currency of heaven. You receive either through your own faith, like the woman who had an issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48), or through the faith of another believer (Mark 16:17-18; James 5:13-16). We know what faith is...
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1
Faith is not believing in something that is not real. There is substance to faith. It is confident assurance. It is based on something that has actual existence. Faith is based in evidence, proof that something that is not seen is for real. Faith says that if God said it, I believe it. It is real because God declares it. The substance of faith and the evidence for faith are all contained in God's own Word. His Word is the substance, it is the evidence. Faith takes God at His Word. Will we reach out and take what God has freely given to us in Jesus, simply by believing His Word regarding it? Notice how Isaiah begins his prophesy of the Messiah's work by asking this question...
"Who has believed our message (report)? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" - Isaiah 53:1
God has prepared a message for you, my friend, and for all of mankind. He calls that message, the Gospel. Gospel means " the good news." God's message IS good news! It is good for our spirits, for our souls, and for our bodies. Who will believe God's message? Who will believe God's report?
In closing, I would like to revisit F.F. Bosworth's questions: "How can there be faith for healing if there is no promise in the Bible that the sick can apply to himself?" "How are the sick to be healed, if there is no Gospel (good news) of healing to proclaim to them as a basis for their faith?" Praise God, there are promises for the sick to apply, and there is "good news" of healing as the basis for your faith. Friends, I have barely scratched the surface of the Good News for bodily healing that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has made available to you. I hope you will consider the evidence that I have presented in this very short article as a basis for your faith.
Healing and health are a concern for most people in the world today, including most Christians. Yet in His Atonement, Jesus made healing available for you and me, and for anyone who will take it by faith. There are so many more precious promises regarding healing for us to explore. We need to keep seeking the Word of God, find out the truth, and believe God's message. The Gospel is really good news!
We hope to bring you more encouraging articles to help build your faith in the promises of God. This year, as a ministry, our focus is to "Depend on God.' As we commit to placing our dependence on the Lord, let us depend on His Word regarding the healing of our bodies and the maintaining of our health. This will help us to remain in His strength and minister to a hurting world, as we abide in the Vine, our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit guide you into all the truth and help you discover and understand all the things you have been freely given by God. And, healing is one of those freely given things!
"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God," - 1 Corinthians 2:12
Now that, dear friends, is GRACE...
written by
Eileen R. Jacobs (February 2019)
Copyright © 2019 Eileen Jacobs Ministries. All rights reserved.
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