Healing Is
Up to Me!
“Healing is
up to me”. This is a word that came to me Sunday, May 24, 2009. As I thought
about this, here is what I realized.
Salvation
Jesus finished the work, he lived the
life, died on the cross, rose again and ascended back up into heaven so that
now by my choice, I can receive forgiveness of sins and have a relationship
with Father God in eternal life. God sovereignly set it up this way. People
generally call this “salvation” or “getting saved.” Actually, in the real sense
of the word, forgiveness, healing, deliverance, prosperity, and blessing in
every way is all included in the term “salvation.” Regardless of what part of “salvation”
we receive, it is all up to us to hear and believe to receive whatever we are
seeking from the Lord. For me to receive, it is up to me. God does not force
himself on us to save us. He calls us, he draws us, he instructs us, but bottom
line, it is our choice to receive or reject his provisions.
Healing
Just as Jesus finished the work for
our forgiveness and eternal life, he has also finished the work of healing. “With
his stripes we are healed…by whose stripes ye were healed” (Isa. 53:5; 1Pet.2: 24).
Just as it is our choice to “get saved” or not, it is also our choice to get
healed or not. All the provisions of healing are now in place. Now, it is up to
us to get healed.
Jesus told his first followers to go
and heal the sick. He said he would always be with them, but it was up to them
to go heal the sick or not (Matt. 10: 7,8) . As a follower of Jesus, even if
the sickness is in our own body, we are instructed to heal the sick. This
brings glory to God and shows that God has full provision for every person in the
world, for whoever will believe.
How We Heal the Sick
“For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God not of works, lest any
man should boast” (Eph. 2: 8.9). Every facet of salvation in the kingdom of God,
of getting “saved” in any way, comes to us through the faith of the Son of God
which is given to us. The grace and the faith that puts salvation into effect
is a gift from God that we receive, so we cannot boast anything of ourselves;
all glory goes to God.
We
need to understand what grace is and how it works, for it is through grace that
forgiveness and healing and all blessings of the kingdom are put into effect. Grace is the unlimited life, power,
gifts, abilities, favor, and nature of God imparted
to us by the power of the Holy Spirit, through faith in the complete
righteousness and the finished sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on our behalf,
because of His love for us and His mercy toward us, to enable us to do all
the will of God on earth here and now,
with a victorious spirit of excellence, praise, worship, and thanksgiving unto
God, thereby overcoming all things in
order to go make disciples of all nations. This is a definition that is
a compilation of the many facets and operations of the grace of God
demonstrated in the New Testament. When we understand that grace is the life of
God imparted to us to enable us to do things, then we can better understand
that through grace we can heal and be healed. Just like we can go out and
preach the gospel and get people saved, we can go out and preach the gospel and
get people healed. It is not us, but the grace of God that is in us and with
us. Paul recognized this in 1 Corinthians 15: 10: “But
by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace
which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me.”
We must understand that grace is
imparted to us through the Holy Spirit through faith in God’s Word, and that it
is God’s will to heal every person. This is abundantly demonstrated in the
ministry of Jesus, whose ministry we are to follow explicitly (Matt. 8: 16,17;
9:35; Acts 10: 38). We must understand that in this grace there is an enablement,
so that every believer is able to carry out the will of God on earth
here and now, ultimately, to get the gospel out to every creature on the face
of the earth. We are to activate that gift by putting it into action. It is
sort of like activating a new debit card by using it. Once it is activated,
then it can be used anywhere, anytime. What better way to get the good news of
Jesus out than to go around healing the sick! This is something we put into
action.
So, how do we heal and get healed? We will
follow the example of Jesus.
Jesus had his focus on doing the will
of God (Jn. 4: 34). First of all, settle it in your heart that you are totally and
radically committed to obtaining God’s will in your life and in the lives of
those around you, who will believe. Healing is God’s will.
Jesus lived by the Word (Matt. 4:
1-11). Immerse yourself in the Word in faith. Feed on, speak, think, act on the
Word. Look not at the natural. Look at the Word. Speak the Word into the
situations you face. Surround yourself with the Word. Shun influences of fear, unbelief,
and the things of the world in your heart, that are contrary to the Word. Let
your heart be filled only with the Word.
Jesus lived in the Spirit. Be filled
with and stay in communion with the Holy Spirit (Mk. 1: 9, 10; Jn. 5: 19). Do
what the Spirit tells you to do and not to do. He knows the specific thing to
do when it needs to be done. Follow his leading. Be filled with and pray with
the Spirit much.
Jesus expected results. Expect prompt
results because Jesus obtained prompt results, but never give up regardless of the
immediate results. Patiently persist, allowing God to change you and change
those around you. Sometimes it takes time for strongholds in people’s minds to
be pulled down and the way of truth established in yours and others hearts that
sets free. Keep hammering away at the wall by speaking the Word with praise,
thanksgiving, and obedience in every way. Remember, they had to walk around the
city seven times then shout to bring the wall of Jericho down (Josh. 6).
It is our choice to be radically
committed to the Word or not. It is our choice to be filled with and stay
filled with the Spirit of God or not. It is our choice to keep our heart in the
way of life and truth or not. It is our choice to be saved or not. It is our
choice to be healed or not. It is our choice to heal others or not. It all
depends on what is the priority in our heart. We will follow the way of fear
and a casual Christianity, or, we will follow the way of faith and live in the
fire of his presence that burns away the bondages. (“…He shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost and with fire” Lk. 3: 16).
Healing Is Up To Me
The prevailing belief in the world and
the Body of Christ is that if God wants us healed, we will get healed, if not,
we won’t. The good news of Jesus Christ is that God has put all provisions in
place; it is his will for us to be healed. Now, we can get our healing if we
will. That is good news. It is backed up by the Word.
“The devil wants to kill you, God wants to heal you.”
That was a word given to a lady with terminal cancer, and she took hold of the
Word when she was 32 and was supernaturally healed of cancer. She is 66 at this
writing and still going strong ministering the Word of God that saves the lost,
fills the empty, heals the sick, and sets the captive free in every way.
Healing is up to me. Healing is up to
you. Jesus provided it. We activate it. Keep speaking the Word to the mountains
to be removed (Mk. 11: 22-26). Follow the Spirit along the way. Expect the full
and abundant blessing of God. Never give up!
