Some have asked, Jerry, why do you concentrate so much on the ministry of healing? Of course it would be easy to say Why NOT?, but you deserve a better answer than that.  Actually, it’s my calling.  Now I know there is a LOT more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ than healing, such as preparing for the Kingdom of God, repentance from sin, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  But behind it all is something we often overlook, and that is the compassion of God.

If we go back all the way to Genesis, we can see the compassion of God in all that He does with mankind.  He put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, best place on earth, with every good and wonderful provision and there was no sickness or pain or death. It was an absolutely blessed life for them with full access and fellowship with God on a daily basis. How the LORD loved them!  There was no need of healing then, for there was no sickness or death.  But once Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the fellowship with God was broken, and THEN the need for healing had come.

God could have wrote mankind off at that point, and justifiably so, and left them to suffer forever, but His love for them drove Him to find a way to restore them to Himself.  The whole Gospel of Jesus Christ is about restoration, healing, and love.  Too many of us have heard the “fire and brimstone” sermons that have only served to drive us far away from God.  You know the drill, Boy, you better repent or you’re gonna burn in hell forever! Now let me ask you, does THAT make you fall in love with God?  It sure didn’t make ME love God.  No, it made me try to avoid Him at all costs.  The image of God that was painted in my mind was that of a big, mean man sitting up there on a cloud with a fly-swatter, just waiting for me to light so He could swat me and send me straight to hell.  Yep, can’t wait to fall in love with that kind of God, how about you?

Like many of you, I went to church doing God a favor by showing up and putting in my two hours in order to try to get Him to soften his view toward me; that is, when there wasn’t  something more important to do, like mow the yard or clean out the garage, or go fishing.  Hello?  Does anyone relate with that? Really, why would I want a relationship with someone who was out to send me to hell, anyway?  Not that I didn’t deserve it, because I did.  I just didn’t like to dwell on it, you know what I mean?  But that all changed in 1993 when the doctor diagnosed me with five melanomas and liver cancer.  It seemed like God was finally poised to make the final swat at me.

I knew I was lost, no doubt about it.  All my excuses were useless, and the time of reckoning had finally come.  My coming reward was just and earned. In desperation, I asked the Lord Jesus to forgive my sins, but at the same time asked myself, Now if I was God, would I forgive Jerry? probably not. That day I met the God of compassion that I want you to know.  He forgave me even though I’d tried to turn from my sins a million times before, but just couldn’t get it done on my own.  There was no real motivation before, but this time it was different.  Why?  Because He healed me from the cancer and in my mind that meant He had laid down the fly swatter.   Actually, He didn’t have a fly swatter in the first place, it was just the false image of Him that was in my mind, presented to me, and many of you, by the devil.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ shows Jesus preaching about the Kingdom of God.  What is the Kingdom of God like?  It is the life that Adam and Eve enjoyed with God before sin existed, and it’s the life that God wants you to have RIGHT NOW.  So in order to bring that life into being for you and me, He had to find a way to provide healing from the effects of sin.  Since none of us can go back and undo our sins, there is only one other way for God to have fellowship with us, and that is for the penalty for sins to be paid in full.  That’s what the Lord Jesus did for us on the cross.  But before He went to the cross, He showed the people the heart of His heavenly Father.  He was moved with compassion for their suffering, and He healed every sick person who came to Him or was brought to Him by others. Did He heal ALL the sick in Israel?  No.  He healed all who CAME TO HIM.  Healing is for “whosoever will come” to Him. I came, will YOU?

Many tell me they have been prayed for by (dig out the list and unroll it, and take a deep breath and start reading it off) , but they weren’t healed.  That makes me wonder then, if God is really that compassionate about healing and restoration, why are some not being healed?  The answer is really simple.  How many years of doubt and unbelief are ingrained in them?  For me it was about 45 years, and it took some “unlearning” of my old belief system, like God sitting up there with a fly-swatter.  God really IS merciful and compassionate, quick to forgive and heal, but it’s up to US to receive that compassion.  You can’t give someone something they won’t receive.  And God can’t make you be saved or healed against your will.

Oh yeah, I’m sure you WANT to be healed from your suffering, but how to get there from where you are simply escapes your understanding.  That’s why the Lord Jesus came and lived among us, clearly demonstrating the love of the heavenly Father to us.  Even then, not everyone believed in Him.  You’d be amazed how many DIDN’T believe.  Maybe you’re one of them. Let me set the record straight for you; if you had lived when Jesus walked the earth, and you came to Him seeking healing, He would NOT have refused to heal you. How do I know that?  Simple, I read the Book.  Never even once did Jesus ever refuse to heal, no matter how long they were sick, no matter how bad or ugly they were, no matter what.  He simply healed them for the asking.  The only thing He required was for them to BELIEVE.  Will YOU be healed? That’s up to YOU, not God.  He is offering, are you taking Him up on His offer?  While it may be a different day, He is still the same Lord Jesus.  Here are just a few examples:

Mat 14:14  And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

Mat 18:23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
Mat 18:24  And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25  But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
Mat 18:26  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Mat 18:27   Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

Mar 1:40  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.
Mar 1:41  And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.
Mar 1:42  And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

The LORD once told me, Jerry, forget everything you think you know about Me, start in Genesis 1:1 and read the whole Bible, and let me show you who I really am. Why, I’d read certain passages that disagreed with my previous ”religious beliefs” and would say to Him, That’s not right!, and He would say “EXCUSE ME??” I quickly learned to come to Him with a teachable heart, and then revelation came.  He really DOES love us, and wants constant fellowship with us; so much that HE paid the ransom for our sins Himself, so we can be restored to Him in every area of our life.  What better way to demonstrate it to us than by healing our suffering?   He is moved with compassion for us, and that’s why He heals.