Acts 10:34-38
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
This is a portion of Scripture that I've read many times, yet each time a tremendous truth continues to surface. It is the fact that Jesus came to do good, not evil, and to heal, not oppress or destroy! So simple, right? Yet many in the church today accuse God of being the one who, on occasion, for some reason or another decides to withhold His healing power from His children.
The argument that many adhere to is the one that goes something like this: "You know brother, God is sovereign!" What is being implied is that God can at any time go against His Word and do whatever seems to be right at the moment. Well, I've got news for those who follow that line of thinking. In order for God to do that, He would have to admit that He lied when He said something to the contrary in His written Word. In other words, if God said it then He meant it and will always abide by what He has said. He cannot change His mind from what He has already said in His Word.
God is most certainly sovereign, but He will never transgress His own Word! That Word says that Jesus went about doing good and healing. We never find a time that the Lord Jesus decided not to heal someone, only an occasion where He couldn't. This happened in
Mark 6:5-6: "And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching."
Notice that it says, "...he could there do no mighty work, ..." It said he couldn't do a mighty work, not that he wouldn't! There's quite a difference between "couldn't" and "wouldn't!" The problem was the unbelief that the people were walking in toward Him. They thought He was just one of them and showed no honor or respect for the anointing that was upon His life. It's the same way today in many churches. The congregation begins to view the minister as a peer and the respect for the anointing on that man or woman is never received.
Don't get me wrong, I fully realize it's the Holy Spirit anointing that brings the results. That man or woman who happens to occupy the pulpit is just a mouthpiece for the Lord in this earth, and the anointing is the Lord! An interesting prerequisite for those who want to receive from the anointing is that they must show honor toward the vessel that God has chosen to use. We must honor those who minister the Word.
Even Jesus, God manifested in the flesh to redeem mankind, couldn't get people healed when they disrespected Him. This is known as the sin of familiarity. Many commit this sin today when they get to know a man or woman of God and begin to show less respect for the gifts in their life. Don't do it! It could cost you dearly!
Galatians 3:13-14
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
I think these are probably my favorite verses of Scripture for showing people that God's will is health and goodness for their lives. The above verses from Galatians 3 speak of something that was accomplished at the cross. The phrase "...hath redeemed..." is past tense. You could say it this way: "has already redeemed." The word "redeemed" is a Greek word that means "the ransom price has been paid." Christ has already ransomed us from the curse of the law when He was nailed to the cross, having become a curse for us. The ransom price was paid in full when Jesus shed His Blood! We have been set free from the curse of the law and all it entailed.
Deuteronomy 28 outlines the blessings and the curses of the law. Within that chapter you will find the first 14 verses deal with the blessings and the following verses until the end of the chapter deal with the curses. It is very plain why the blessings would come upon a man or woman in their lifetime. Verse 1 says:
Deuteronomy 28:1
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:"
Obedience to the Lord and His commands were a must in order to be blessed of Him. For those who listened (hearkened) unto His voice, and were doers (observed) his commandments, the blessings followed. Nothing has changed until this day. It still takes obedience to the Lord and His Word to receive the blessings that rightfully belong to every born-again child of the King! Now read on in verse 15:
Deuteronomy 28:15
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:"
Disobedience or sin always has a consequence! It's outlined here throughout the rest of the chapter what would happen to those who ignored or disobeyed God's commands. Every conceivable sickness, calamity and trouble would befall the disobedient one. We'd better clear up a major misunderstanding about some of the verses here in Deuteronomy 28.
In many places you will read that the Lord would be the one putting the sicknesses on the people. In some verses it says that he will smite you with various diseases. The simple explanation for this is that in the original Hebrew language this was written in the permissive tense. In other words, it was God permitting these diseases to come upon the people because of their disobedience. They had a choice and they chose to disobey! The wage of disobedience is death. (Romans 6:23) When the original Hebrew was translated it was put into causative English. What originally was God permitting turned into God causing and has become a stumbling block for many in the church today.
Was God a killer in the Old Testament and a life-giver, healer in the New Testament? No, absolutely not! "For I am the Lord, I change not ..."(Malachi 3:6)"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) He's always been the same God and always will be the same God. He's not a killer! Jesus said in John 10:10 that it was the thief who came to steal, kill and destroy, but that He came to give life and that more abundantly!
You and I have a decision to make every day of our lives. It starts when we wake up in the morning. "Am I going to be obedient to the Word of God today or will I forget His promises and commands and walk according to my own fleshly dictates?" Life and death, blessing and cursing have been set before you. It's up to you to choose life that both you and your seed would live. (Deuteronomy 30:19) Health and healing are covenant rights for the Christian -- but they are only received by faith and manifested in those who obey the Word. I know that may sound like a hard line to draw, but it's what the Word says.
We can never blame a perfect, sinless, all-knowing, all-powerful Lord for not healing a human who has so many opportunities to disobey the Word. God has stated His will for His family, it's up to us to receive it and walk in harmony with the written Word of God. I've seen the Lord do many miracles throughout my 19 years of full-time ministry. I know He wants everyone well so they can get out there and fulfill the Great Commission by telling a lost and dying world about this wonderful Jesus! Receive your health and healing today, then proclaim the truth in the Word --Healing is always God's will!
