THE MINISTRY OF DIVINE HEALING

by Robert L. Hoover


"Bless the Lord O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget' not ALL His benefits. Who FORGIVETH ALL thine iniquities; who healeth ALL thy diseases." (Psalm 103:1-3.)

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we ARE HEALED". (Isaiah 53:5)

Believing that God is a God of Love; a God of justice and judgement; He must abide by His own promises both to bless the obedient and to punish the offender.

Sickness can be caused by sin against the body. It can be permitted to come upon those who rebel against God. Sin is the cause of all sickness and when sin is removed healing will immediately begin to take place. That sin may be worry, fear, anxiety, excesses, lack of nourishment, lack of exercise, lack of rest, unbelief, or a combination of several of these.

Let us first consider God's provision of Healing for His children. We have already quoted Psalm 103:1-3, where it states "Who HEALETH ALL thy diseases". God has made provision in Christ for every sickness and every disease. In the prophecy of Isaiah, it is declared, "WITH HIS STRIPES we ARE healed". (Isaiah 53:5.) This places healing with God, as a task which is already accomplished, Jesus, in going to the whipping post, paid for every sickness and every disease. He then went to the cross and paid for our sins. In so doing He fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:5 and made good the declaration of Psalm 103:3.

Jesus when He was on earth healed EVERY ONE that came to Him. "When the even was come, they brought unto Him (Jesus), many that were possessed with devils and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed ALL that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses". (Matthew 8:16,17). We read further, "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing EVERY sickness and EVERY disease among the people". (Matthew 9:35). You may wonder here why it states sickness and disease separately. The reason is to make very clear that every ailment was cured. Sickness is ill health or nauseation while disease may be a mental, moral, or physical disorder. Here we see in detail that Jesus Christ delivered EVERY person from EVERY ailment, thus revealing that He is no respecter of persons and that He is willing and able to meet every need of the physical body.

This ministry of healing was also given to his disciples. "And when He (Jesus) had called unto him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal ALL manner of sickness and ALL manner of disease". (Matthew 10:1). Here we see again the same power given to His disciples that Jesus Himself ministered to the people.

In the Commission Jesus gave to His followers, when sending them out to take the Gospel to every creature, He made this promise. 'These SIGNS shall follow them that believe.... they SHALL lay their hands upon the SICK and they SHALL recover". (Mark 16:17)

This healing ministry was in the Church age with the same power in the same measure enjoyed by ALL. 'There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folk, and them that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed EVERYONE". (Acts 5:16.)

James declares "Is ANY sick among you? the prayer of faith SHALL save the sick and the Lord SHALL raise him up, and if he have committed SINS, they SHALL be forgiven him". (James 5:14.)

The barrier to receiving healing from God today can be traced to one or several things. The greatest of these being unbelief. It is impossible for God to come to the assistance of anyone who fails to believe His Word. We must believe that God IS. We must believe that God is a God of love, that God desires His children to enjoy His blessings and benefits, that God desires His children to know His will, to know His provision. We read in the Bible, "He that cometh to God must believe that HE IS and that HE IS A REWARDER of them that diligently seek Him'. (Hebrews 11:6.)

There are four things that we must understand clearly in order for us to receive our healing from God.

  • That God is ABLE to heal every sickness and every disease.
  • That God is WILLING and READY to heal us NOW. The provision has already been made. He is no respecter of persons. He is the unchanging God. He has declared His will and His promise to heal us NOW.
  • We must empty ourselves of every doubt, fear, and unbelief. We must take our eyes off our sickness and disease and fix them on Jesus Christ the Healer.
  • We must release our faith to God by asking Him to forgive us of our sins and to heal our bodies.
Here is a list of sins that will hinder your healing:

1.
Unbelief - "Jesus did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief'. (Matthew 13: 58) "Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief'. (Matthew 17: 19, 20)

2.
Doubt - When Jesus bid Peter to walk on the water, Peter did walk on the water as long as he kept his eyes on the Lord and not on the water. Fear gripped his heart and he began to sink. Jesus helped him and then challenged Peter with these words, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou DOUBT?" (Matthew 14:31).

The same statement comes from Jesus when the disciples marveled at the cursed fig tree drying up in so short a time. Listen to the word of Jesus. "Verily I say unto you. If ye have faith and DOUBT NOT, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done". (Matthew 21: 21)


3.
Careless Living - The apostle Paul places the failing saints into three groups. The weak, the sick and the premature dead. (I Corinthians 11:30). He also states the reason for it being the lack of self-judgment and the punishment of God for not discerning the Lord's body. (I Corinthians 11:29-32).

When we know God's provision, and stand upon His promises, at what time our faith is equal to our need, we will receive our healing immediately. Regardless of our experience and failure to receive our healing, God's Word remains the same and He is waiting for faith that will release His healing virtue to EVERY ONE of us.