Please be warned that the following message is going to be very straight forward. (You’ve been warned…)

There are a few beliefs some Christians hold to and even profess that ruffle my feathers the wrong way. The one I am going to cut to pieces now is one that was brought to my attention again this week and it’s the one about sickness being a trial we go through that God uses to test our faith and make us better people, to teach us to trust Him more.  AAARGH!! Let’s start at the beginning. One of the first names God reveals Himself as is Jehovah Rapha which means I AM THAT I AM HEALING. How can God send sickness if He is healing? You can only give what you have. Logic.

1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed. (NKJV)

By the stripes of Jesus we WERE healed. Past tense. God provided for healing 2000 years before you even got sick once. If God makes you sick, He is actively in rebellion against the finished works of the cross. He would be undoing what Jesus died to do. If God makes you carry something Jesus died carrying on your behalf, then Jesus did it for nothing. If God placed ALL sickness on Jesus it means there is NONE left to place on you!

Matt 12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. (NKJV)

If God is healing and making sick then His Kingdom is divided against itself and cannot stand. That should shut down the whole stupid theology right there. But some people think sickness is as a result of sin and sickness is one way God uses to teach us not to sin. Really? Look at the following 3 verses:

2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NKJV)

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. (NKJV)

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things (NKJV)

God has three ways of teaching us: His Word (which is Jesus), the anointing (which is His power), and the Holy Spirit. If you say sickness is God’s way of teaching, then you are calling the Word, Jesus, the anointing and the Holy Spirit a sickness. Think long and hard about that one… Next, if God made you sick to teach you something, and again I say IF, then why do you go to the doctor? Wouldn’t that be rebellion against God’s will? God wanted you sick, but you are running to the doctor to make you well, so you are in rebellion. You should be praying to let the sickness run its full course so you can really learn what God wants to show you. And if making us sick is a valid and divine way of teaching, and we are told to imitate Christ, then why don’t we inject our kids with cancer or HIV? We want them to be good people with nice character right? If sickness if God’s way of building character, then give your kids cancer and help them be better people. Can you see why I call this stupid?

Rom 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. (NKJV)

2 Cor 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, (NKJV)

Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. (NKJV)

If God is making you sick because of sin, then God is lying in all three these verses. If He makes you sick because of sin it would mean He is keeping score of your sin, He hasn’t blotted them out of His memory and Jesus didn’t carry all sin. Again, think about that of while, or should I say, SELA! Ok, last verse:

Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (NKJV)

Jesus went around doing GOOD by healing people who were OPPRESSED BY THE DEVIL. Jesus was healing people who the devil was making sick. So if you are sick, it is not God, it is the devil. He is trying to make you carry something Jesus died to free you of in order to get you to doubt the goodness of God. Rom 16:20 says the God of peace will crush satan under YOUR feet. When you start stepping God can do some crushing! So go get that size 13 sandal of the GOSPEL and put it where it belongs, on the devil’s head!

Be HEALED NOW!!!  Shaba!

Cornel

Ex 15:3 The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name. (NKJV)

The context of Exodus 15 starts with introducing God as a man of war. A few verses down in Exodus 15:26 God reveals His healing nature by referring to Himself as Jehovah Raphah meaning “I am the Lord that heals you.” A more literal translation of the Hebrew actually reads, “I am Healing.” God described Himself as a man of war and a healer in the same chapter. Initially this might seem contradicting, but not if you see healing as the weapon of attack the Man of War wields against the works of the devil. God is a man of war and healing is one of the weapons in His offensive arsenal. It is NOT merely a defensive weapon.

1 John 3:8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.  (NKJV)

Jesus was purposefully manifested to destroy the works of the devil. According to prophecy, this was because He came to attack, not to defend. Look at the following verses and see how healing is associated with war and offensive or attacking arsenal.

Isa 35:2-6 They shall see the glory of the Lord, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. (NKJV)

Psa 107:20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. (NKJV)

Now when we look at what Paul wrote about our war and our weapons, we will see the same thing.

2 Cor 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (NKJV)

If healing is a weapon God used, then it is definitely a weapon we have available too. But we most often try to use this weapon in a defensive way, waiting for the devil to attack us before we bring out the big guns. Then we try to learn how this weapon works while facing enemy fire at the same time. How many of you can realize that is not the best way to learn?

Matt 16:18 on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (NKJV)

If you think about movies like the Lord of the Rings, you always find one group of people behind castle walls and a big gate defending against an enemy’s attack. The people behind the gates are in defense mode. All they can do is defend ground, they cannot take ground while they are behind the gates. Now in Matthew 16 Jesus says the gates of hell shall not prevail. That means the devil and hell are supposed to be on the defensive against the church. We always use this verse when the devil is attacking us as a way to comfort ourselves that God will not let the devil win. We have it backwards! God is not letting the devil win, he is already defeated. But in regards to your sickness, the defenses of the devil will not prevail against the attacks of the believers!

Sickness will not prevail against healing. Destruction will not prevail against restoration. When healing is used according to its purpose, to attack the enemies of God, those enemies can’t prevail. Don’t wait for your recurring symptoms to surface before you start defending. Attack those symptoms during the times when they are not even present. It doesn’t take much to do that. Declare the Word of God over your health. Bind the works of that infirmity and chase that devil further away!

Acts 19:15-16 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (NKJV)

Does the devil know you? Do you deal with him so consistently that he will say about you what he said about Paul and Jesus? If not, he might just prevail against you too. It is not God’s will for the devil to prevail. You will be perfectly in line with the will of God whenever you purposefully get up in the morning to mess up the devils day, to foil his plans and to send him running tail between his legs. After a while he will realize that you are not swallowing his lies anymore and will say of you what he said about Jesus and Paul. The devil doesn’t care how much Bible you know. He knows more Bible then you. He does get worried however when you realize who you are, when your life starts to reflect scripture, when you start to become scripture in the flesh by growing up into Christ.

The weapons are in your hands, use them!

Cornel Marais