Published by admin on 13 Oct 2001 at 10:07 pm
GOD IS WILLING, ARE YOU?
If I could prove to you beyond any shadow of a doubt that it is God’s will to heal you, would you be willing to be healed? That may sound like a silly question, but unless you are convinced God is willing to heal you, it isn’t very likely to happen. So many people need a healing touch from God for their body, but just don’t know how to receive it, or worse yet, they aren’t sure God is willing to heal them. The Bible shows God can heal, and, He is also willing to heal as well, but it takes our faith to let Him.
In Mark 1:40-42, it is written, “And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”
There are a few things I would like to bring out here; the leper knew Jesus could heal him. No doubt about it. He just didn’t know if he would heal him. For one reason or another, he felt that although Jesus had healed others, he might not do it for him personally. And Jesus, his heart full of compassion for the leper, put forth his hand and touched him. Jesus hates for us to be sick and afflicted with disease. But nothing happened until Jesus cancelled the leper’s “if” by speaking “I will”. I perceive this is may well be your problem, that you know only that Jesus can heal you. Most everyone knows He can. But you don’t know it is His will to heal you.
By Jesus’ own words to this leper, He confirmed, yes, it is His will to heal. And it is just as much His will to heal you today as it was His will to heal people then. So, the question is no longer is Jesus willing to heal you, but are you willing to believe it is His will to heal you? Are you willing to receive your healing? It is as simply done as it is to receive your salvation. It is not one kind of faith to be saved, and another kind of faith to be healed. There is only one kind of faith.
Let me take you to Hebrews 11:1 which says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” First off, it is “Now” faith, not yesterday’s faith or next week’s faith. Just as God is “I AM” and is always present tense, not “I was”, or “I wanna be” or “I will be”. Although this you need to understand, God was, and is and is yet to be. That’s why He was able to heal then, and today, and forever. He changes not. You need to believe “now” to put God’s Word against what the devil has put on you. Let’s look at this like an equation, “Now faith” equals “Substance”, equals “things hoped for”, which is the earnest expectation of what you desire, which also equals “evidence” of things not seen.
Let’s say a burglar broke into someone’s home by breaking out a window and they cut their arm getting into the window. Then the burglar stole their television. The police came and followed the trail of blood to another house. The police had the “evidence”, which was the proof of the crime committed and who did it, even though the television was not yet seen. But the search warrant produced the proof which is now the substance, and later the conviction.
Faith is like that. “NOW FAITH” works like this; it takes the “evidence” which is the written word of God concerning healing, and earnestly expects God to keep His word until it is manifest. That is, until the “unseen manifestation” becomes “substance, the proof, of the things hoped for”, and it keeps on having faith and having faith, and not wavering, despite all the worldly evidence to the contrary until it becomes so.
Because actually, it became so when God spoke it. And how are you able to do this?
Well, knowing that it is impossible for God to lie, makes things a whole lot easier. You cannot get anything from God without faith. It even takes faith to get saved. And God Himself even gives us that faith.
That is what Romans 10:17 describes. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I say it like this, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing and hearing the word of God over and over. And the word of God opens our understanding to be able to hear and understand His word. The word itself removes the spiritual blindness and deafness from us, and opens our understanding to know that God indeed has made wonderful promises to us, which we can lay claim to, if we will only believe and act on them. It is by the Word we are saved and healed, not we ourselves. You see, it’s one thing to believe the promises. It’s quite another to act on them as though you already have possession of them.
Let me give you my own example; I did furniture repair for my living. I had been diagnosed with 5 melanomas and liver cancer and given a month to live. Even though I had been prayed over for healing, I still had all the symptoms of cancer. I went out on jobs, and would tell people I had cancer but God had healed me. Those people said, You don’t look healed! I said, no, but God said I’m healed, so that settles it. I wasn’t about to argue with God. I continued to lose weight until I only weighed 86 pounds. By the looks of things, God’s word wasn’t working. I didn’t look healed. I didn’t feel healed. But Psalm 103:2-3 still said “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.” God said I was healed. That is truth. The facts in my body said otherwise. But I stood on the Word of God as the final authority in my life, and cast down every word contrary to God’s word. I continually cast down my own feelings, and what others said, what I looked like, and refused to accept anything except what God said was so.
The doctors did nothing for me. Jesus healed me, and I was and am healed. I could have accepted the symptoms and given up hope and disbelieved God, and died. But I chose to believe God. I chose life, and I live, because the truth changed my circumstances. And if you will choose to believe God,and line your words up with His and act on them, the truth of His Word will change your circumstances as well. Hang in there and don’t give up on God’s Word. And don’t believe the devil’s lies. God the Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus. So you can’t give the excuse that God doesn’t love you. In fact, there is no excuse at all for not receiving your healing right now. How about it? God is willing, are you?
Let’s pray; Father God, I come to you in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I believe it is your will for me to be in perfect health, else Jesus would not have gone around healing the sick. I believe I am healed by the stripes that Jesus took on His back. I believe He willingly and purposely took all my sickness and diseases upon Himself, so I receive my healing now in Jesus’ name, and I give you praise and glory and thanks for it. Amen.
And if you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, add this to your prayer:
And Father God, I confess my sins to you and ask you to forgive me, and I ask Jesus to come into my heart now and I confess Him as my Lord and Savior forever, and I ask you to put your precious Holy Spirit in me now. Amen.