In the words of Jesus, can we know if it is
the Father’s will to heal today? In the four gospels, all that Jesus
taught and the miracles He performed were a purposeful and powerful
revelation of the heart and will of God the Father for all who believe. In
the gospels we see the fulfillment of the Father’s love and His plan of
redemption for a fallen world. Nowhere does the Scripture teach that this
period of grace and mercy, including healing and miracles, was intended
for the first century Church only, but would continue until His return.
Remember
the great commission in Matthew 28:18-20, where Jesus said, “Observing all
things whatsoever I have commanded you… even unto the end of the world.”
Yes, He did command us to heal the sick and cast out devils! Guess what?
The need to be set free from sickness, disease and demonic activity didn’t
end after the Apostles died. Man becoming more educated and proficient
with technology has nothing to do with the need for the Supernatural power
of God. Satan is still alive and well on planet earth!
What
troubles me regarding faith for healing is that most Christians will agree
that God can heal but they are unsure if it is always His will. Basically,
the teaching is all over the map. However, you don’t get that impression
at all if you simply read the accounts of the miracles and deliverance in
the gospels and listen to the dialogue of Jesus with those concerned. At
least I don’t. Since we know that not all are healed who ask, this becomes
an important issue for anyone in need.
In my
case, I finally had to go to the doctor because there were strange things
happening in my body. After months of seeing specialists and finally a
muscle biopsy, I was diagnosed with a very rare progressive muscle wasting
disease called Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM) and put on disability.
Needless to say, my world was turned upside down. Believing in the full
gospel, seeing miracles and reading testimonies of miracles over the
years, my belief system came to a crossroad. I found myself asking
questions like:
-
Can I practice what I preach?
-
Do I really believe what I preach?
-
Is it always God’s will to heal?
-
Am I being punished for something?
As you can
imagine, the list goes on and on. Also, as a result of researching this
disease and what it does to a body, I began to experience fear and panic
attacks. We know from Scripture that isn’t how we are to live because fear
has torment.
“God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and
of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Knowing
that I could not live this way and to find peace, I decided to once and
for all settle this issue in my own mind. My quest began because there
were no answers for my situation from the medical profession, a Church or
denomination. I had been placed in a position where my only hope was in
God. Without a miracle, my fate would not be pleasant. So the search began
to find answers from the Bible, the Word of God. And, if need be, be
willing to change or re-think my understanding and belief system based
solely on the Word of God and the Word only.
“I
will lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help
cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2
FATHER’S WILL – A BETTER COVENANT
Hebrews
8:6-13, states, He (Jesus) is the Mediator of a “Better Covenant,”
established on better promises. John 1:1,14,18 tells us that Jesus is The
Word… and the Word was God. God Himself, in the Aramaic text, who became
flesh for the purpose of interpreting God the Father to mankind. In this
period of grace and mercy, we are blessed to have been given this
knowledge in the written Word, and according to the Scriptures, those who
believe by faith in Christ are partakers of this New Covenant and all the
promises taught and demonstrated by Christ in the gospels. We are heirs to
the promises and have the right to claim and expect God to act on them on
our behalf. As Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,”
and “All the promises of God are yes and amen.” My point regarding healing
is simply that if we want to know the will of God on this or any other
subject, why not go to the source? So in this work I will further expand
on the subject of the New Covenant and how we handle that understanding in
light of the question posed: In the Words of Jesus, can we know it is the
Father’s will to heal today?
WHY ARE SOME NOT HEALED?
I believe
there can be blocks to healing and conditions to healing. God’s timing may
be involved where He allows a test in our lives to bring us into
relationship with Him so that He can possess our hearts in full. I can’t
say how that all works out with each individual since that is between them
and God but I do know that God’s ways are not always our ways.
Additionally, we should never forget that if we had all the answers, there
would be no need of faith. The Scriptures say that it is impossible to
please God without faith. These issues are not the main purpose of this
work. However, exploring the subject of healing from another angle may
shed some light on the belief system that much of the Church has chosen to
believe over a period of hundreds of years. This I will attempt to explain
with some comments on Higher Criticism, which is a study of the Biblical
texts that makes judgments on their origins, history and integrity. This
is a real soap-box issue for me.
FAITH AND UNBELIEF
Faith,
doubt and unbelief are also very, very important. But in this work, I will
let the Words of Jesus do most of the talking. I would suggest you read
one of the gospels and pay close attention to the words of Jesus when
dealing with healing and deliverance after reading this article. It
doesn’t take a PhD in theology to understand what He says about faith and
unbelief. Simply put, at some point, one has to discard outside
influences, man-made theories and believe Him. Along this same line, I
recently came across a quote by Gandhi, a Hindu and definitely not a
believer, who said that Christians have a book that has the power to
change the world, and if my memory is correct, he called it a bombshell,
but they treat it or read it as mere literature. Ouch! I don‘t know about
you, but that is a profound statement from a non-believer! I must say that
one doesn’t turn the world upside down by reading mere literature. I
reference a favorite Scripture, Acts 17:6, “…These that have turned the
world upside down are come hither (here) also…” The text in Hebrews 4:12
should settle that issue for a Christian:
“For the Word of God
is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
It is
absolutely imperative as believers that we read and study the Scriptures
as a God-breathed, God-inspired book that is living, powerful and able to
change our life in every way. This is why Paul’s words in Romans 10:17 are
so important:
“So the faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Keep in
mind that it is not the purpose of this work to study healing in general
from Genesis to Revelation. I don’t believe the two Covenants can really
be separated on this subject or the promises of God. Hebrews 13:8 states,
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever,” and I realize
that the title of this article narrows the scope of the work down
somewhat. That was done on purpose. But to reinforce my point, there will
be some quotes and examples from other New Testament eyewitnesses that
confirm what Jesus did and spoke.
THE NEW COVENANT IN ACTION
As you
read through the Gospels, you will find that Jesus is a living
demonstration of the New Covenant by His life and actions in the Gospels.
In Him you see the New Covenant in action. He destroyed the work of the
devil and healed all who were oppressed. Deliverance from oppression
included freedom from the curse of physical and emotional sickness,
disease and those demonized by the devil. As you would expect, He covered
all the bases.
“He
that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinneth from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8
In Acts
10:38, Peter said, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost
and with power: who went about doing good and healing all who were
oppressed by the devil; for God was with Him.”
In the
Gospel of Luke, Jesus said, “Behold I give unto you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing
shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)
HE MIGHT DESTROY
The word
translated “He might destroy” in 1 John 3:8 is in the first person of the
verb luw (Gk. Luo) “I loose” or “I untie.” Jesus was manifested to loose
or untie the works of the devil. In Luke 13:12-16, the same verb is used
when He said, “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.” Jesus went on
to say, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan
hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the
Sabbath day?” Again, He uses the same verb “Luo.” We see here that
sickness is from the devil and Jesus always did the will of God by setting
the captive free. Ref. Job 2:6-7; John 10:10.
GIVEN POWER AND AUTHORITY
In Luke
10:19, the word power is used twice. The first time is the Greek word for
authority, “power (authority) to tread on.” The second time power is used
it is the Greek word from which we get dynamite when He said, “over all
the (dynamic, mighty ) power of the enemy.” Yet Scripture states that the
enemy is defeated.
However, if we don’t know it or believe it, then the second word for power
in Luke 10:19 becomes a weapon, an open door to be used by the enemy to
defeat and oppress us and literally take us out of the fight physically
and spiritually.
In Genesis
1:26, God gave man authority and dominion over the earth. By Genesis
chapter three man had disobeyed God and fallen. When man sinned, the
authority and dominion, given in chapter one, was transferred to Satan. He
is the one who brought in disease, sickness, poverty, pain and death.
Because of the cross, that authority has been returned to all who put
their trust and faith in Christ. In my opinion, all the undeserved and
unmerited love, grace and mercy of God is culminated in the one person,
Jesus Christ. Somehow the Church has to realize that when we trust in
Christ, the salvation of the soul also includes deliverance from and power
over the curse of death, sickness and disease. This power is a free gift
that needs to be activated and used in an offensive move against our enemy
who hates the creation of God and is relentless as a destroyer.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.” John 10:10
FURTHER UNDERSTANDING OF THE NEW
COVENANT
By the
shedding of His blood, Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant between
God and mankind. Remember, God’s covenants are unbreakable and this New
Covenant was made between God the Father and His Son. It is unconditional
and unbreakable.
“For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of
the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise
it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” Hebrews
9:16-17
Now when
we believe on the Lord Jesus, we become partakers of that Covenant.
Remember, under the Law, God had made Covenants with Abraham and Moses on
the part of the people of Israel and kept His part of the agreement; but
in each case Israel “continued not in my Covenant.” (Hebrews 8:9) God in
His grace and mercy issued a New Covenant. In this new agreement, Jesus
was the sacrifice whose death was necessary to make the Covenant binding
and a “surety of a better testament.” (Hebrews 7:22) We now have an
everlasting Covenant:
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting
covenant…” Hebrews 13:20
In the New
Testament (Covenant), you may try but you will not find anywhere that God
has withdrawn the promises of this Covenant written in His blood! To the
disillusionment of many, especially those of so called higher education,
His atoning sacrifice on the cross clearly covers salvation and physical
healing as witnessed to specifically in Matthew 8:16-17, and again in 1
Peter 2:24, then throughout the Gospels, the book of Acts and the
Epistles. Education does not automatically equal revelation or
illumination. In the context of Matthew and Peter, they were referencing
Isaiah 53:4-5, where a more literal translation from Hebrew reads:
“Surely our SICKNESSES He hath borne, and our PAINS -He hath carried
them, and we have esteemed him plagued, smitten of God, and afflicted.
And He is pierced for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities,
the chastisement of our peace [is] on Him, and by HIS BRUISE THERE IS
HEALING FOR US.” Isaiah 53:4-5
The Hebrew
word used for healing is from the prim-root, “Raphah,” which means “to
mend, to cure, cause to heal, repair thoroughly, make whole.” So if a
person wants to say that Isaiah 53 is pertaining to salvation of the soul
only, then that is their prerogative, but I believe the Scriptures are
clear that healing or being made whole physically and spiritually are both
covered in the atonement and part of the New Covenant. Surely that can be
backed up by the testimonies of physically and emotionally restored
Christians throughout the ages.
Another
interesting side note in relation to Isaiah 53:4-5 is that there is no
future tense in the Hebrew. God is timeless and operates in the present.
That means the promises of God are for us today and forever!
A COVENANT OF LOVE
God is
love and that is the core of His nature and the New Covenant.
That is why I titled this article, “In the Words of Jesus,” because it is
Jesus, the Word who became flesh, God Himself who explodes on the scene of
history with the message that God the Father is reaching out to reconcile
fallen mankind to Himself. God the Son came to physically declare it and
personally demonstrates it to us throughout His ministry. Actions speak
louder than words. Make no mistake; God is not the problem in our lack. If
what we ask or pray for does not come to us in a timely manner, then we
need to seek Jesus, trust His Words and actions and believe His
everlasting promises found in the New Covenant,
not the traditions and doctrines of man.
DOES IT TAKE A SEMINARY DEGREE?
We can be
led by the Holy Spirit. Even “unlearned fishermen” learned to understand
and be led by the Spirit after Pentecost. It is ultimately the
responsibility of every Christian to search the Scriptures daily to verify
the teachings of men against the words of God inspired writings.
If we cannot trust the words of God, then we will be led down a road of
ignorance and unbelief, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth.” (2 Tim. 3:7) The words of Hosea are still true:
“My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Hosea 4:6
In regards
to ignorance and unbelief, unbelief is no small matter. Jesus addressed
this issue many times in the Gospels when chastening His disciples. In the
book of Hebrews, Paul warns against having an “evil heart of unbelief,”
and Jude talked about those who were destroyed in the wilderness due to
their unbelief. In context, both are referring to the wilderness
experience of Israel, but still very real in the modern Church world of
today. Unfortunately, doubt and unbelief are as real in today’s Church as
it was in the wilderness experience of Israel due to Higher Criticism.
Likewise,
in the context of Israel in the wilderness, Paul further states, in
Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them:
but the word preached did not profit them, not being MIXED WITH FAITH in
them that heard it.” (Emphasis mine) It’s one thing to hear and read the
Word and another thing to know or believe it by faith. We desperately need
to readjust our thinking, our attitudes, and our understanding as to what
God has revealed to the Church in the New Covenant. Jesus is the Word of
God and He is the totality of the New Covenant that is unbreakable. In His
Word He speaks loud and clear, need only to listen.
EFFECTS OF HIGHER CRITICISM
Moving on
from the New Covenant, I want to continue to lay a foundation as to why I
believe most of the modern day Church thinks and believes the way it does.
Our modern theology has really been developed over the last five hundred
years or so. Much of it comes from an arrogant religious and humanistic
belief system. The thing that really fueled the fire for the modern Church
was a humanistic philosophy and carnal mindset which came on the scene in
the sixteenth, seventeenth and up into the eighteenth century with Higher
Criticism.
In the
modern church, the eighteenth and nineteenth century experienced a sharp
increase in this attitude of Higher Criticism, and a period also known as
the time of “Enlightenment,” where reason and science ruled the day. The
belief in a personal loving God, miracles and the supernatural were
thought to be for the uneducated and the superstitious. In short, man’s
God was within each individual and man could be his own God. Notably, this
work of the enemy had always been working in the Church from the beginning
in the garden when Satan said, “You shall be as gods” and into the New
Testament era by mystics like the Gnostics in Alexandria and spread their
teachings beyond Egypt where they were confronted by Paul and the other
apostles. This old movement had gotten a new and fresh spark in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and doubt and unbelief quickly spread
like wildfire through religious colleges and universities of higher
education worldwide up into the late 1800’s. So what was true of the
Pharisees’ in Jesus’ day is still true today.
“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your
tradition... teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
Matthew 15:6, 9
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ.” Colossians 2:8
Today we
refer to these Higher Critics as Modernists in our Post Modern Church.
They freely propagate their unbelief and twisting of Scripture with the
help of the Emerging Church movement, who teach what they call an
“Authentic Christianity” with their mysticism, Spiritual Formation and
Contemplative Prayer etc. These liberal theologians mix the doctrines of
ancient mystics from Rome and the early Alexandrian Church with some truth
but have deliberately destroyed and diluted the teachings of Christ and
the apostles. Here is clearly an example of carnal minds that cannot
receive the things of God, being blinded and deceived by the enemy.
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but
they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” Rom. 8:5
“And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the
renewing of you mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable and perfect will of God.” Rom.12:2
In our
day, these so-called men of Higher Education having picked up the mantle
of rebellion and unbelief have many things in common, but none more
revealing than their open disbelief in the supernatural and disbelief in
the inspiration of Scripture. Their approach to the inspiration of
Scripture was purely technical and scientific. I firmly believe this
attitude leads to deception, unbelief and eventually to the doctrines of
demons.
Like the
Higher Critics from the past and the Modernists of our day, we too have
learned to cherry pick the Scriptures. We pick and choose the Scriptures
that meet our needs or agree with our worldly or doctrinal beliefs and
decide what is inspired and what is not! The most evil opponents to the
Gospel, the Gnostics from Alexandria, added and subtracted thousands of
God-breathed Words from the Scriptures. They purposely corrupted the
Scriptures because of their impaired understanding of the supernatural and
their humanistic and mystic belief system. They purposely degraded the
authorship of the Torah and the Prophetic books of the Old Testament and
diluted the essential doctrines of Christ taught by the apostles. This was
all done with a direct and perverted plan to discredit the Scriptures
pertaining to the Supernatural Origins, the Resurrection, the Deity of
Christ, the Virgin Birth, the Holy Spirit, The Bodily Resurrection of
Christ, and The Trinity.
OLDER IS MORE ACCURATE
Another
way for the Higher Critics to accomplish their agenda was to point out the
earlier ancient manuscripts discovered in Egyptian or Alexandria. Their
theory was that if a manuscript is older, it must be more accurate. In the
1800’s they purposely set out to shed doubt and destroy the reliability
and the trustworthiness of the “Received Text,” universally accepted for
well over 300 years worldwide. As mystics and Gnostics, they despised the
Received Text or Authorized Version. Furthermore, what is deliberately
covered up and ignored, then and now, is the character of these people and
what they believed in handling these corrupted manuscripts. They were
responsible for putting together these so-called “ancient manuscripts” to
be used to create a “more accurate” Greek Text for translation purposes.
It is important to realize that most, if not all, of their theories are
based on conjecture, lies and the fantasies of their own arrogant
religious and non-believing minds. Eve was beguiled in the garden by the
serpent with the question, “Ye hath God said?” They assembled these early
manuscripts and were controlled by their humanistic and Gnostic religious
mysticism, preaching and teaching, as Paul states, “Another Gospel.” The
apostle John said, “They went out from us but they were not of us.”
It is
important to note that the same rebellious and Anti-Christ spirits that
controlled and influenced these deriders of the truth are still working in
the modern day cults and the New Age deceptions that have infiltrated the
modern Church, Christian schools, Christian colleges and seminaries in
such a big way. Make no mistake; they have faithfully and consistently
done damage to Truth and Faith by what they put forth in the construction
of these dubious manuscripts.
It is
interesting to learn that these so-called earlier, more accurate
manuscripts were not used by the earliest translators, including the noted
scholar Erasmus, because they were deemed corrupt with serious errors,
omissions and inconsistencies. The two main manuscripts in question were
tampered with as late as the twelfth and fifteenth centuries by numerous
questionable individuals like the known forger Constantine Simonides, who
admitted forging Codex Sinaticus and the equally corrupt Codex Vacticanus.
Does being older and make it more accurate? Yet here is the basis for much
of our modern day theology and the never ending flood of newer Bible
translations.
With the
influence of the modernist, we tend to base much of what we think and
believe on what has come down to us from these Higher Critics and
so-called “Enlightened Ones” without leaving out the early textual
criticism that begun directly after the writings of the original Apostles.
Sadly, I want to point out that these unbelieving and deceived men along
with their attitudes are openly welcomed and accepted with little or no
investigation into their backgrounds or belief systems. How many of the
leaders today pay attention to the educational and religious backgrounds
and personal beliefs that influenced their teachings and conclusions?
History reveals that their esoteric backgrounds were a horrible mixture of
carnal religion and satanic mysticism from the pit of hell! Yet to our
shame, we accept them and their claims solely on their word, because of
their degrees of Higher Education in so-called religious colleges, and
their ordinations into a corrupt and worldly church system.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but
after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3
WESTCOTT AND HORT
I stated
in the beginning that this is a soap-box issue and have debated for some
time whether to mention two heretics by name that have done more in modern
times to destroy faith and the Word of God than anyone else I can think
of. Keep in mind that they were not the first by any means. The debauchery
began by the end of the first century, but in the 1800’s, these two were
the spark that set the forest ablaze in the modern day Church. Will
discussing Westcott and Hort take away from the purpose of this work? I
truly believe that exposing these two will shed much needed light on the
enemy’s success in the use of deception and the ability of depraved
individuals to pull the wool over the eyes of a passive and easily swayed,
itchy-eared, end-times Church.
In modern
day seminaries and colleges, Westcott and Hort are considered the fathers
of modern Higher Criticism. Their textbooks and theory’s are what fuel the
never ending fire of deceit. We received the Revised Version from their
manuscript produced in the 1881 in which they mainly utilized the Codex
Sinaticus and Codex Vacticanus, two corrupt Gnostic manuscripts from
Alexandria. Without going into detail here, let me explain that these two
did not believe in the Deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the Trinity, the
reality of Hell, the Resurrection, and the Atonement just to name a few.
They tried to destroy these essential Christian doctrines which they
personally despised. To give you additional information into their
mindset, they were both fans of Charles Darwin, were involved in the
occult and were members of spiritist societies like tthe Hermes Club and
the Ghostly Guild. Jude’s words are timeless on this issue:
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old
ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God
into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Jude 4
The
apostle John stated very clearly how to handle such individuals:
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,
hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both
the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this
doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” 2
John 9-11
I am
tempted to expound on these Scriptures in light of what we see going on in
the Church today but I will not because they are clear on the deception
and how it should be handled. No beating around the bush. The work of
Westcott and Hort, or I should say their lies and theories, along with the
Revised Version, is the basis for all modern Bible versions. Not only is
their theology a complete sham but they were morally and spiritually
bankrupt individuals. Is that too harsh? How do I know this? Well, there
has been much written about them that is easily attainable. And possibly
more important, their own letters and correspondences’ have been published
by their families which confirm what many already knew about them. There
is nothing like getting it from the horse’s mouth! Yet the information has
generally fallen on deaf ears of those who are charged with caring and
protecting the flock of God! Adding to the deception of these deceitful
men and their doctrines is the fact that all the major Christian
publishers are now owned by secular companies. They have only one thing in
mind, profit! There is no concern whatsoever for truth or preserving the
Word of God. Suffice it to say, if one is interested, the proof is
overwhelming as to the purposeful destruction of the Word of God and
Faith. Isn’t it possible that after hundreds of years of diluting truth
and faith, while promoting doubt and unbelief unchallenged, can affect the
way people believe and think?
THE MAIN SUBJECT
First, I
would like to make a side note regarding healing that I fully understand
there are conditions to the Promises of God, both Old and New Testament
(Covenants). The Promises of God are covered in two other Studies: The
Promises of God and Appropriating the Promises of God.
As Jesus
ministered in the Gospels, was He working independently of the Father? The
apostle John says “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
(John1:18) Here the Aramaic reads, “the only begotten God” (even
stronger). The word we translate “declared” in Greek is “exesegesato,”
which means to lead out or make known. Therefore, the Word was made flesh
for the purpose of making known God the Father to mankind.
If we need
clarification, Jesus makes this statement to Philip:
“If
ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from
henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord,
shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I
been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he
that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew
us the Father?” John 14:7-9
THE FATHER’S WILL IN THE WORDS OF
JESUS
Moving on
to the meat of this work, I want to explore the Words of Jesus, for in
reality, why do we need further explanation? After all, He is the Creator,
Lord and Master of heaven and earth!
“Jesus saith unto them, My meat (purpose) is to do the will of him that
sent me, and to finish His work.” John 4:34
“…Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself,
but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these
also doeth the Son likewise.” John 5:19
“I
can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is
just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which
hath sent me.” John 5:30
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of
him that sent me.” John 6:38
“When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he,
and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught Me, I
speak these things. “And he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not
left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” John
8:28-29
“I
must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day…” John 9:4
Jesus
spoke at the tomb of Lazarus:
“…Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.” John 11:41
“And he who seeth me seeth him that sent Me… For I have not spoken of
myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I
should say and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is
life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said
unto me, so I speak.” John 12:45, 49, 50
HEALING IN THE WORDS OF JESUS
Before
Lazarus was raised from the dead, Jesus spoke to Martha about the glory of
God.
“…Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest
see the glory of God?” John 11:40
Is not
raising someone from the dead seeing the glory of God? Remember what
happened when Jesus was in His home town? He did very few miracles there
because of their unbelief.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that believeth on me, the works that
I do shall he do also: and greater works than these shall he do; because
I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I
do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask any thing in
my name. I will do it.” John 14:12-14
“If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye
bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples… These things have I spoken
unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be
full… Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you,
that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain: that whatsoever ye ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
you.” John 15: 7-8, 11, 16
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils:
freely ye have received, freely give.” Matt.10:8
A Gentile
comes to Jesus and asks for mercy:
“…It
is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs.” Matt.
15:26
In
context, healing and deliverance are the children’s bread. If you are a
believer you are one of the children and an heir to the promises.”
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham… So then they which be of faith are blessed with
fruitful Abraham… And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and
heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:7, 9, 29
“…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark
16:18
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear
us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we
desired of him. 1 John 5:14-15
“Or
what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread will he give him a
stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give a serpent? If ye then being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more
shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask
him?” Matthew 7:9-11
The Greek
word for “ask” means to keep on asking.
“Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it
shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that
seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” Matt. 7:
7-8
The
disciples were unable to heal a lunatic and asked Jesus why:
“Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith
as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove
hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be
impossible unto you.” Matthew 17:20
Jesus
speaking about a rich man:
“…It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God… With men this is impossible;
but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:24, 26
Concerning
the boy whom the disciples were unable to heal, Jesus said to the boy’s
father:
“…If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
Mark 9:23
“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they
cast out devils… they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover.” Mark 16:17-18
NONE REFUSED
Jesus
never refused or failed to heal anybody who asked Him. Read through the
gospels and check out that statement. Matt. 4:23; 8:16; 9:35; 12:15;
13:14; 19:2; 21:14; Mark 6:56; Luke 4:40; 6:17-19; 9:11; John 6:2.
THE BOOK OF ACTS
Here is
the heart and will of the Father in the New Covenant.
Acts 2:43,
Many wonders and signs done by the Apostles.
Acts
3:6-10. A lame man Healed.
Acts 5:5;
5:10, Ananias and Sapphira.
Acts 5:15,
The shadow of Peter Heals the sick.
Acts
9:32-34, Aeneas Healed.
Acts 9:
36-42. Tabitha raised from the dead.
Acts
13:11, Elymas blinded.
Acts 14:3,
Miracles by Paul
Acts
14:8-11, Crippled man at Lystra Healed.
Acts
16:18; 19:11, Deliverance from a spirit of divination.
Acts
19:11, Miracles by Paul.
Acts
20:10, Eutychus restored to life.
Acts 28:8,
Father of Publius healed.
MORE EXAMPLES AND TESTIMONIES FROM
THE APOSLTES
EYE WITNESSES ACCOUNTS
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have
handled, of the Word of life… That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1
John1:1, 3
“…We have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the
Saviour of the world.” 1 John 4:14
APOSTLE PAUL
Regarding
gifts given to the Church: “gifts of healing,” “working of miracles.”1 Cor.
12:9-10
God
appointed in the Church: “after that miracles, then gifts of healings.” 1
Cor. 12:27-28
The
apostle Paul on the Father’s will:
“He
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things?” Rom. 8:32
“For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the
glory of God by us.” 2 Cor. 1:20
“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and
seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” Phil 4:9
Take note
that Jesus didn’t say all things except healing, deliverance and miracles.
He said to do all things!
Paul is
listed as the author of Hebrews according to the 1st and 2nd
century Aramaic manuscripts. Now that is really old! Isn’t older supposed
to be more accurate?
“God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with
divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own
will?” Heb. 2:4
“Is
any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 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.”
James 5:14-15
“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in
health, even as thy soul prospereth.” 3 John 2
The Greek
word used for “health” means to have sound health, be well in body, be
uncorrupted, be in health, wholesome or whole. Furthermore, the Greek word
“prosper” means PHYSICAL and SPIRITUAL health and has the sense of a
prosperous life journey.
CAN YOU ANSWER THIS?
Were the apostles out of touch with
the will of God? In certain instances but not when it came to laying hands
on the sick and performing supernatural healings. After the cross, which
Covenant were the apostles under?
HEALING HELPS UNBELIEVERS TO
BELIEVE
“Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not
believe.” John 4:48
“And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come
forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with
graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith
unto them, Loose him, and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came
to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.”
John 11:43-45
“And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise,
and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda
and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.” Acts 9:34-35
“But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning
him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when
she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up,
and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. And
it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.”
Acts 9:40-42
A LESSON FROM JOB
There are
many lessons we can learn from the book of Job but I believe that one of
God’s purposes for putting the book of Job in the canon was to teach us
that Job came to the point where he rested in God apart from all outside
input and explanation. In that context, we need to rest in God’s Word
apart from explanation or unbelieving outside influences.
JAMES,
LIKE JOB WAS SINGLE-MINDED
“If
any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think
that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is
unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5-8
We have to
come to a place where we shake off the doubt and unbelief that is
programmed into us from a carnal and evil minded theology perpetrated by
modern day Higher Critics over a period of hundreds of years. They have
helped place distrust and doubt on the inspiration of Scripture as a whole
which automatically leaves the door open for doubting the promises of God
and not understanding of the New Covenant and the will of God. These same
spirits have plagued the Church of God during these hundreds of years.
That influence explains why so many, including religious leaders, put much
of their trust in man-made doctrines, traditions of men, reason and
science over against an omnipotent, omniscience God and His written Word.
CONCLUSION
I know
that I am a work in progress and don’t claim to have all the answers but I
do believe that the Scriptures say what they mean and mean what they say!
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
“Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my
soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Hebrews 10:38
I believe
that the Scriptures plainly teach us to press in and trust God the Father
through Jesus Christ our Lord and expect an answer, even the impossible.
We have to come to the place where we truly believe and are convinced that
the Scriptures are true and the Words and actions of Jesus and the
promises of the New Covenant are still alive and real for us today and not
some pie in the sky. The Second Covenant is an unbreakable and everlasting
Covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus. It states that it is the Father’s
will that we are whole and complete in body, soul and spirit. The red
letters and promises in our Bible are not dispensational in time. We won’t
need them anymore when we finally see Him face-to-face. We need a powerful
revelation as to who God the Father is and a revelation of His love that
is expressed and declared to us by the Lord Jesus. One way to get this
revelation is to know His Word because the Father, Son, Holy Spirit and
the Word are inseparable. In order to do that, a person has to be in the
Word and know what it says. With the help of the Holy Spirit, that’s where
the revelation will come from. For I believe it is a supernatural
revelation.
“If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7)
RESTATING A FACT
As I
shared earlier regarding the Bible new translations, it is important to
understand that these versions are all based on the 1881 text from
Westcott and Hort and put together from a handful of corrupt and forged
works from Alexandria. So if you are studying and memorizing scripture
from them, you are reading verses that have been purposely altered to
leave out key words and phrases and add or change words that are not in
the original text to dilute and weaken their intended meaning. I have
personally read verses in some of the new translations that are supposed
to be easier to understand and find that many times are too wordy and
confusing. This should be a major concern! Or to say it another way, here
you have non-believers embedded in a carnal religious system falsely
calling it Christianity and deliberately imposing their twisted views on
the proven Word of God. That sounds impossible, right? But no, they got
away with it and are still going strong!
“…It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
I have
tried to show how the enemy has been hard at work to beguile the Church
for more than nineteen centuries with information based on the damage of
Higher Criticism and diluting of the precious Word of God. This brief work
is directly based on Scriptures in the New Testament (Covenant) and the
Words of Jesus. There is only one author of the Scriptures and the Word
tells us He never changes.
The “I AM”
of Exodus in the Old Covenant is the same “I AM” of the New Covenant. When
the Church finally rids itself the teachings of the modernists and becomes
single-minded, then we will see great things happen in these last days.
FAITH
– A REVELATION OF JESUS
Why don’t we just come into agreement
by faith with the Word and the promises of God for a change? Remember,
mustard seed faith will get the job done. Jesus said:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
I am
beginning to understand more and more that the only way to enter into rest
is by revelation. Rest won’t come by making demands, striving to get more
faith or trying to be righteous enough to please God. These are works of
the flesh and living under the works of the law. That is a problem in the
Church as we still try and mix law with grace, effectively canceling out
faith. It just won’t work! One example of revelation knowledge is the
woman with an issue of blood in Matt. 9:20-22. Why did she believe that by
just touching the garment of Jesus she would be made whole? That can only
come by revelation of who Jesus is. Don’t forget Peter’s confession of
faith when Jesus asked the disciples who people said He was.
“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,
Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but
my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 16:16-17
Faith is a
revelation of who Jesus is; He is the totality of the New Covenant. On the
mount of transfiguration, a voice came out of the cloud, which said, “This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; HEAR YE HIM.” (emphasis
mine) That can or should change the way we think and understand the New
Testament (Covenant).
Jesus
taught an important lesson in Luke 5:4-9. To see God’s power at work, we
must be willing to venture into the deep water, beyond the shallow water
of reason, the status-quo and the outside influences of doubt and
unbelief. Tired and defeated from a night of unsuccessful fishing, the
disciples acted on the Words of Jesus by faith and were astonished at the
catch. It was far beyond what they imagined was possible but the
impossible happened. So much so that they had to call for help and almost
sunk two boats trying to get the fish to the shore. One thing is certain,
miracles happen in the deep water of faith! Not in the shallow water of
traditions and doctrines of man. Amen.
Volume 15, Issue 2 |