Today I’d like to talk about healing.  I was recently at a Bible Study at a nursing home, and the Spirit of the LORD was present to heal, and I shared that with the people present.  And there was a man there, supposedly a believer, who said, “People should be content in whatever state they’re in, because it’s not always the LORD’S will to heal, and that’s why these people are the way they are, because it isn’t God’s will for them to be healed.”  That REALLY grieved my spirit, and I believe it grieved the Holy Spirit as well.  I can’t seem to get this out of my craw, and that’s why I’m back on it again today.

I don’t think the man was saying it to be mean, but rather out of ignorance.  It’s easy to look at all the sick people in a nursing home or hospital and think, if it’s really God’s will to heal, then why are there sick people?  Why doesn’t He just heal everyone?  And that’s where they stop, they don’t get into the Word of God to find the answers.  BUT I DO, BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH.  A lot of people quote, “The truth shall make you free”, but that’s only PART of the thought.  You need to have the rest of the passage as well, which says,

28  Then said Jesus unto them, 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.
29  And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
30  As he spake these words, many believed on him.
31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

You see, there’s more than just “The truth shall make you free”, you must CONTINUE in His Word, and that means to live in and abide in His Word, and that means a relationship with Christ Jesus is not a “drive-through”, for a couple hours on Sunday.  What does that have to do with healing?  ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING!!  Let’s have a look at Luke 4:18-19,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the LORD.

What do you see as the key issue in those verses?  We find the answer is at the very first: “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME”….  Why is that so important?  Well, simply, if the Spirit of the LORD is not upon you, then none of the rest of that verse works, either.  If the Spirit of the LORD is not upon you, abiding in you, working in you, then none of the works of the Holy Spirit are going to be there, either.  So, getting back to the man saying it is not always God’s will to heal, the explanation is easy, THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD was NOT upon him, period.  To speak against the working of the Holy Spirit is to speak against God himself, and His very nature.

If it were not God’s will to heal, then WHY did the Lord Jesus heal all the sick who came unto Him?  If it were not God’s will to heal, Christ Jesus would have not only been in rebellion to His Father by healing the sick, He would have been in sin, which would have disqualified Him from being the PERFECT Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Jesus said He did nothing without His Father’s will, and He also said, I and My Father are one.  And He didn’t stutter, either.  He made a very bold ascertation that it IS God’s will to heal by making that statement.  Who are WE to argue with God?  Who are we to say it is not His will to heal, when He clearly demonstrated throughout Jesus’ ministry that it indeed IS the Father’s will to heal?

Is everyone healed?  No.  Is everyone saved?  No.  WHY NOT?  The reason is, at creation God gave man “free will” to choose his own thoughts and will.  And because God gave mankind free will, He will not violate our choice to love and obey Him, to serve Him, to honor His Words in our lives, or to lay hold to any of His blessings.  It is written in 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

OK, there we have God’s Word that it is not HIS will that any should perish.  That’s the will of Almighty God, the All-powerful One. So, will all come to repentance?  No, because they have free will.  Will all be healed?  No, because they will not believe, or they will not come to Him to be healed.  BUT, all who do ARE healed, just like when Jesus was in His earthly ministry.  You will notice that it doesn’t matter how sick they are, or how long they’ve been sick, or where they’re from, or even if they are a Scribe or a Pharisee, as Jairus was, Jesus was always willing to heal.  Now if Jesus made no excuse to keep from healing the sick, then why are WE???

Back to the nursing home when the man said it was not always God’s will to heal, that saying of his hit me like a 2×4 upside the head, and IMMEDIATELY the Word of the LORD rose up in me with this stern rebuke from the Lord Jesus in Matthew 23:13,  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

There are those who delight in keeping people from receiving God’s Words and being delivered from their problems, and maybe you know some of them, worse yet, maybe you ARE one of them who are actually fighting against God.  That’s why the Lord Jesus said, WOE UNTO YOU! There is going to be a terrible price to pay for those who, through their own unbelief, keep others from receiving their healing and deliverance from the LORD.

But the LORD is quick to forgive those who repent of their sins, and there is mercy in abundance for those who will not remain in unbelief.  Maybe you aren’t where you need to be yet in your walk with the LORD, that you can tell the sick with certainty, THE LORD WILL HEAL YOU.  But don’t let the devil use you as the bearer of his will to discourage the sick, that they remain sick.  If need be, just keep your mouth shut and let the Holy Spirit do His work, and just watch.  Certainly then, you will be convinced of the goodwill of the LORD, that He desires all men to be set free from the devil’s captivity.  And if you’re diligent to study God’s Word, and you abide in His Words and His Words abide in you, then one day, you too will rise up and say, THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME….and He will use you to set the captives free!   After all, the Lord Jesus said, in John 14:12-15,

12 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.
13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

PRAISE GOD!!